There's the famous quote that if you want to understand how

Opening Scene

The room is calm, bathed in the soft light of the evening as the last rays of the sun filter through the window. Outside, the city continues its steady rhythm, but inside, there’s a quiet energy. Jack sits at the table, flipping through a notebook, jotting down a few thoughts. Jeeny, standing near the window, watches the world below, lost in thought. The room is still, but the air feels full of potential, like a conversation is on the verge of unfolding.

Host: Finally, Jeeny turns to face Jack, her expression thoughtful, as she softly speaks, breaking the silence.

Jeeny: “You know, I was thinking about something Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said in an interview. He mentioned, ‘There’s the famous quote that if you want to understand how animals live, you don’t go to the zoo, you go to the jungle. The Future Lab has really pioneered that within Lego, and it hasn’t been a theoretical exercise. It’s been a real design-thinking approach to innovation, which we’ve learned an awful lot from.’ It got me thinking — how often do we try to understand things from a distance, without truly experiencing them from the inside?”

Jack: “That’s a fascinating idea. It’s like the zoo vs. the jungle analogy, right? If you want to understand something in its true context, you can’t just observe it from the outside. You have to dive in, get your hands dirty, really see it from the inside out. That’s what the Future Lab did at Lego — they didn’t just theorize about innovation; they immersed themselves in it, exploring how people really engage with the product, how it can evolve.”

Jeeny: “Exactly. It's not just about theorizing or coming up with ideas from an ivory tower. It's about getting close to the real experience, seeing how things actually work in practice. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in concepts or models that we forget the value of truly engaging with the world, of understanding things in their natural environment.”

Jack: “I think that’s the beauty of design thinking. It’s not just about coming up with solutions in isolation. It’s about embedding yourself in the problem, understanding the context, and iterating based on real-world feedback. Lego didn’t just want to make new toys; they wanted to understand how children play, how they learn, how they interact with the world. And that’s where the real innovation happens.”

Host: The conversation shifts into a deeper reflection now, as though both Jack and Jeeny are beginning to understand the full implications of what Knudstorp’s words suggest. The world outside continues, but the room inside feels charged with the energy of a new realization. Jeeny walks closer to the table, her voice steady as she continues.

Jeeny: “It makes you wonder how often we overlook the real context in our own work or lives. We think we can innovate or solve problems from a distance, without fully immersing ourselves in the situation. But true understanding — true innovation — comes when we’re part of the process, when we experience it from the ground up.”

Jack: “That’s so true. In a way, it’s like we often try to fix things from an outsider’s perspective, trying to impose solutions without really understanding the underlying challenges. If we took more time to engage, to experience things directly, we’d come up with better, more practical solutions.”

Jeeny: “And it’s not just about understanding the problem; it’s about understanding the environment it exists in. Just like you wouldn’t understand how animals live by just observing them in a zoo, you wouldn’t fully understand a situation without seeing it in its true context, with all the nuances that shape it.”

Jack: “It’s the difference between theory and reality. The zoo is neat and controlled, but the jungle is wild, unpredictable, and real. If we want to understand something at its core, we need to go into the jungle — we need to get up close, experience it, and let that inform our solutions.”

Host: The room feels quieter now, the weight of their words settling between them like a shared understanding. Jack leans back in his chair, his expression thoughtful as he reflects on how often we approach problems from a theoretical standpoint, without truly experiencing the reality. Jeeny looks out the window again, her gaze far away, as though contemplating the implications of this new way of thinking.

Jeeny: “Maybe that’s what’s missing in a lot of the work we do — the real immersion. We spend so much time trying to control the process, to find answers in theory, but we forget the importance of understanding things in context. By getting closer to the real experience, we learn more, not just about the problem, but about the world around it.”

Jack: “Right. And that’s where the best innovation comes from — when we truly understand the situation, when we experience the challenges firsthand. It’s the difference between guessing what’s needed and knowing what’s needed.”

Jeeny: “I think that’s the real lesson from Lego’s Future Lab. They didn’t just try to innovate from the outside; they immersed themselves in the process, got to know how people engage with their product, and used that to drive real innovation. It wasn’t just theoretical; it was deeply rooted in understanding what works and what doesn’t.”

Jack: “That’s where the real value lies — in getting close, in understanding things in their natural context. Only then can we truly innovate in ways that make a difference.”

Host: The room grows still, as though the conversation has reached a quiet but profound conclusion. The outside world continues, but inside, Jack and Jeeny have found a new understanding — that true innovation isn’t born from distance or detachment. It’s born from the willingness to get close, to engage, and to understand things from the ground up. In that process, we find the answers we’re looking for, not in theory, but in the real world.