David Robertson

David C. Robertson – Wharton School Professor and Co-Author of Brick by Brick

Wharton School professor David C. Robertson is the host of the weekly radio show Innovation Navigation, where he interviews leaders from around the world about innovation. He is also the author of Brick by Brick, an inside look at LEGO’s near death and spectacular rebirth. In his talks, he shares lessons from LEGO and other leading companies on how to structure and lead innovation.

In 2003, LEGO almost went bankrupt. The company had failed to adapt to the revolutionary changes in children’s lives and began sliding into irrelevance. Advice from innovation experts almost led the company to ruin, and the future looked bleak for one of America’s most iconic brands. Why didn’t newly developed products and businesses—including theme parks, computer games, electronic toys, and clothing—save the company? The answer wasn’t just innovation—it was innovation management. LEGO needed an entirely new system of processes, tools, roles, and policies that governed creative thinking. Once that was in place, the company re-emerged more powerful, resilient, and inventive than ever. Today, LEGO’s sales are growing at 24% and profits at 40% per year every year for the past five years, and the brand is experiencing something of a renaissance. The blockbuster film The LEGO Movie, which came out in early 2014, was a massive hit, grossing an estimated $140 million at the U.S. box office in less than two weeks.

David Robertson has been a student, teacher, and practitioner of the art of innovation for his entire career. As a Professor of Practice at Wharton School, he teaches Innovation and Product Development in the undergraduate, MBA, and executive education programs. From 2002 through 2010, Robertson was the LEGO Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at Switzerland’s Institute for Management Development (IMD), which received the #1 worldwide ranking by the Financial Times for its executive education programs. At IMD he was Program Director for IMD’s largest program, the Program for Executive Development, and co-Director of the Making Business Sense of IT program, a joint program between IMD and MIT Sloan. Robertson also serves as a consultant to companies on innovation and technology management issues.