Building Great Business Workflows: Lessons I Learned from Building Lego

Jace Newbold
Apr 7
4 min read

One of my absolute joys is opening a brand new Lego set. This is an experience I don’t rush.

I carefully empty the contents, sorting the bags of pieces, always on the hunt for those unique bricks. I examine and lay out the sticker sheets. Then I flip through the instruction booklet, studying the design, reading the story behind the set and learning about its designer.

It’s a small ritual.

It isn’t until this point that I dump out the first bag of pieces and begin to build.

I have loved building Lego sets since I was young. What I didn’t realize as a kid is that this passion would later shape how I approach my career in operations. Because building with Lego isn’t just a hobby, it’s a masterclass in designing, building, and optimizing business workflows.

Here are a few lessons that building Lego has taught me about building workflows.

Design First - Always

Every Lego set starts with a design and blueprint. This includes detailed building instructions and a parts list.

I typically build official Lego sets, where the design experts at Lego have already crafted a masterpiece set. But even when building a MOC (my own creation), I have a design in place before I start building.

The approach to building workflows should be no different.

It can be tempting to jump straight into configuration, building in real time, solving problems as you go. It feels productive. It’s not.

It’s costly rework waiting to happen.

The right approach is to slow down upfront. Take time for discovery sessions. Map the process, and build the blueprint. This isn’t overhead. It’s acceleration.

When the design is clear, the build becomes predictable and the outcome becomes repeatable.

I have found that two artifacts help me to map out a workflow before I ever start configuration: a Design Document and a Configuration Sheet.

Design Document – The blueprint. It defines what you’re building, why it matters, and how it will work. This includes business goals, process description, systems involved, tools needed, user roles, and success metrics.

Configuration Sheet – The parts list. It outlines every component that needs to be built or configured: intake forms, templates, approval workflows, user configuration, system settings, etc.

Keep it Simple

As a kid, I would build the most wildly ridiculous “super vehicles” out of Lego bricks. This thing could drive, fly, dive underwater, and launch into space. It had every weapon and tool imaginable. It was bullet-proof, fire-proof, and explosion-proof. It could pull maneuvers that broke the laws of physics. It was a beautiful monstrosity.

And yes, it looked as complex as it sounds – a lump of bricks with wheels and wings.

It was over-engineering at its best.

It’s surprisingly easy to take the same approach when designing workflows.

You want it to do anything and everything. Solve every problem. Anticipate every edge case. But this approach of over-engineering workflows becomes expensive, lengthy, difficult to maintain, and nearly impossible to adopt.

The following steps will help you keep it simple:

Define your business needs – List your needs, goals, and desired outcomes. List it all. No need to filter anything yet.
Prioritize ruthlessly – Prioritize your list. Separate the list into “Now” and “Later” buckets. Your “Now” list becomes your north star. Your “Later” list becomes your future roadmap.
Design an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) – Focus on your “Now” list to design your MVP. Create the Design Document and Configuration List.
Stick to the plan – New ideas will come (they always do). Capture them, but don’t allow them to derail your current build. Save them for future iterations.

Simple doesn’t mean basic. It means focused, intentional, and effective.

Build for Scalability

One of the most brilliant things about Lego bricks is their versatility. A single set can easily be modified, expanded, or even automated. Lego often builds this into their sets, with alternate build options or expansion sets.

Here are some examples from my own Lego collection:

Land Rover Classic Defender 90 – alternate build options include a classic or expedition model with either a turbo diesel or V8 engine
Landrover Classic Defender 90 (Expedition Model)
Cat D11 Bulldozer – integrates with smart phone for app-controlled play

Loop Coaster – option to automate by replacing a manual crank with a motor

Lego’s architecture easily allows for iteration.

Your workflows should too.

Tomorrow will soon be today. Stay focused on your MVP, but build your architecture to allow for tomorrow’s expansion, integration or automation.

Follow these strategies:

Use modular design – like Lego bricks, build flexible components that can be reused and repurposed in other workflows.
Configure at the right level – configure at the highest level possible, architecting a strong foundation that can be leveraged across teams and workflows.
Plan for integrations and automation – identify where systems can connect and where manual steps can be eliminated.
Establish governance – create standards, rules, and ownership to ensure consistency, scalability, and long-term success.

The goal isn’t just to build something that works today, it’s to build something that keeps working as your business grows.

Great Systems are Never “Done”

The Lego sets I built as a kid are different from the Lego sets I build as an adult. They are bigger. They are more complex. They are more functional. My Lego collection evolved as my capabilities grew.

Business needs evolve. Processes change. Tools improve.

The organizations that win are the ones that treat workflows as living systems—not a one and done project.

Strong operations teams regularly evaluate their systems, identify improvements, and iterate.

Enjoy the Process

Over time, I’ve realized that my love for LEGO and my passion for building workflows are both rooted in the fact that I love creating. I love the process of designing, building, and improving.

I believe people who build the best workflows aren’t just skilled at it, they enjoy it. Their enthusiasm shows up in the details. It drives them to be intentional in their approach, and to continuously improve.

They understand that great workflows, like great Lego builds, are:

Thoughtfully designed
Intentionally simple
Built to scale
Continuously improved

And when you approach it this way, “everything is awesome!”