What Strategic Play Global does

Strategic Play Global (legal entity 0914162 B.C. Ltd.) is a privately held Canadian facilitation and training company founded in 2003 and headquartered on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, operating with an 18-person core team across 40+ countries through a network of certified trainers. The company is the licensed operator and a leading global trainer of the LEGO Serious Play (LSP) methodology, a facilitated, hands-on thinking and communication technique in which participants use LEGO bricks to build 3D metaphorical models that surface ideas, solve problems, and build shared understanding. Its product suite centers on the LSP Facilitator Training and the advanced Master Facilitator Certification (covering Strategic Storytelling, Design Thinking, Playing with Strategy, and Creative Conflict Analysis), supported by proprietary add-on tools including the trademarked Playsonality™ playstyles assessment, Elements: Natural Leadership, the Six Bricks teacher program (licensed from Care for Education / LEGO Foundation), the Now What the Duck? activity book, and 3D LSP Diagnostic Cards. All training programs are approved by the Global Federation of LEGO Serious Play Master Trainers and delivered in up to seven languages.

The company monetizes through three primary streams: (1) professional certification training cohorts (early-bird and standard tiered pricing, delivered in-person and online), (2) custom in-house enterprise workshops and consulting engagements for organizations ranging from 4 to 500+ participants, and (3) product sales of books and facilitation resources through a Shopify storefront and Amazon. It also generates event revenue through its own annual Strategic Play Conference (hosted in Whistler, Dalí Art Museum Florida, and Hong Kong) and presence at industry conferences (CPSI, EPIC, CREA, Serious Play, ACRE, Mindcamp, Victoria Forum). Its customers span enterprise (Procter & Gamble, Google, NASA, IKEA, US Air Force, United Nations, EY, KPMG, Megalabs Mexico), government (City of Surrey, Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Public Works & Government Services Canada), and higher education (Simon Fraser University, Royal Roads University, University of Victoria, Great Plains College, Cambrian College), with a secondary go-to-market targeting individual coaches, consultants, facilitators, and educators who want to add LSP methods to their practices.

Name

Strategic Play Global

Legal name

0914162 B.C. Ltd.

Website

https://strategicplay.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strategic Play Global is a Canadian-founded (2003), privately held training and facilitation firm that delivers LEGO Serious Play certification, proprietary assessments (Playsonality™, Elements), and custom in-house workshops to enterprise, government, and education clients in 40+ countries through an 18-person core team and a global licensed-trainer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Facilitation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Knowledge Management & Script/Playbook Development (EDABACAM)

Keywords

• Facilitator certification training
• Corporate training workshops
• Team building facilitation
• Leadership development programs
• Creative problem solving

Headquarters

HQ city

Sechelt

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Certification Training Programs: Revenue generated from intensive facilitator certification courses in LEGO Serious Play methods. Programs include Teams & Groups certification, Creative Coaching, Master Facilitator Certification (covering Strategic Storytelling, Design Thinking, Playing with Strategy, Creative Conflict Analysis and Management), Playsonality Certification, and Elements Leadership programs. Training delivered in-person (in-house and at hosted locations) and online, with pricing at early-bird and standard rates. Programs run multiple times per year across global locations.
2. Custom In-House Workshops and Consulting: Revenue from on-site custom-designed workshops for client organizations. Workshops cover vision and future planning, strategy and risk management, problem solving and decision making, team development, change management, strategic storytelling, design thinking, and innovation. Engagement scales from small teams (4-10) to large groups (500+). Billed per workshop or engagement, with follow-up consulting as required.
3. Product Sales: Sale of facilitation resources, books, and tools through the Shopify storefront (strategicplay.myshopify.com). Products include the 'Now What the Duck?' book (available on Amazon), 3D LSP Diagnostic Cards, and other LSP-related resources. Physical goods sold with shipping.
4. Conference and Event Participation: Revenue derived from annual Strategic Play Conference registrations (hosted in locations like Whistler BC, Dalí Art Museum Florida, and Hong Kong), Play Lab workshops at CPSI, and sponsorship revenues from events like EPIC International Summit. Conference packages include certification add-ons and early-bird pricing tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels14 records

Core offering

Strategic Play Global trains and certifies facilitators in the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) methodology and delivers custom on-site facilitation workshops to organizations. Its core service is the intensive LSP Facilitator Certification program (Teams & Groups, Creative Coaching, Master Facilitator), supported by proprietary tools such as the Playsonality playstyles assessment, Elements Natural Leadership program, Six Bricks educator training, and the Now What the Duck? activity book, plus custom workshops covering strategy, change management, team development, and innovation.

Product overview

Strategic Play Global offers a comprehensive suite of play-based training and facilitation products and services centered around LEGO SERIOUS PLAY methodology. The core offering is the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY Facilitator Certification, which serves as the foundation for all other programs. Building on this, they offer Playsonality™ (a unique playstyles assessment identifying eight distinct playstyles), Elements: Natural Leadership (leadership development using seasonal metaphors), Six Bricks (Duplo-based training for educators), Now What the Duck? (activity guide with LEGO duck bricks), and 3D LSP Diagnostic Cards. Services include custom workshop development (Vision, Strategy, Problem Solving, etc.), in-house training delivery globally, and advanced Master Facilitator Certification. All programs are approved by the Global Federation of LEGO Serious Play Master Trainers. The company also provides content resources including a podcast and blog.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Playsonality: A unique playstyles assessment certification training program that helps individuals identify their play DNA and how to work effectively with others whose styles may differ.
• Elements: Natural Leadership

Products and services

• LEGO SERIOUS PLAY Facilitator Training & Certification Intensive hands-on certification program teaching participants to facilitate LEGO-based workshops for team building, creative problem-solving, and strategic planning using the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY methodology. Includes Teams & Groups, Creative Coaching, and online/live options in multiple languages.
• Playsonality™ Proprietary playstyles assessment and certification program that identifies an individual's 'Play DNA' across eight distinct styles, helping individuals and teams understand collaboration, learning, and communication differences.
• Elements: Natural Leadership Leadership assessment and development program using the metaphor of four seasons and nine leadership styles (Water, Wood, Earth, Light, Fire, Thunder, Air, Moon, North Star) to help leaders understand their approach to innovation, change, and cyclical transformation.
• Six Bricks Certification (Canada) Child-centered teacher training program using larger Duplo bricks, developed by Brent Hutchenson and endorsed by Care for Education, focused on low-cost high-impact playful learning for literacy, numeracy, social skills, and confidence.
• Now What the Duck? Book Creative facilitators guide featuring fun activities with LEGO duck bricks for engagement, communication, and learning across team building, ESL, and collaboration contexts. Available on Amazon.
• 3D LSP Diagnostic Cards Award-winning visual facilitation tools used in LSP workshops to help participants explore ideas, identify solutions, and communicate through three-dimensional metaphorical models in combination with LEGO building.
• Workshop Development Services Custom-designed workshops for organizations covering Vision and Future Planning, Strategy and Risk Management, Problem Solving, Designing Better Systems, Leading through Change, Strategic Storytelling, Self-Organizing Project Teams, and Engagement and Team Development.
• In-House Training On-site training programs delivered globally at client locations, covering facilitator certification and custom workshops tailored to organizational needs. Scales from small teams (4-10) to large groups (500+).
• Master Facilitator Certification Advanced multi-day certification program covering Playsonality, Strategic Storytelling, Design Thinking, Playing with Strategy, and Creative Conflict Analysis and Management, with a flip-classroom approach combining face-to-face and online learning. Represents 100+ hours of hands-on learning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% participant engagement in workshops (built into ground rules — everyone builds)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Care for EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCare for Education is a nonprofit organized and funded by the LEGO Foundation. SPG's Jacqueline Lloyd Smith attended Six Bricks training in South Africa and SPG became the first organization to bring the Six Bricks program to Canada. The partnership enables SPG to offer the Six Bricks certification program to teachers and educators in North America. Relaunched in Canada in 2025.
• Global Federation of LEGO Serious Play Master TrainerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll SPG training programs are approved by the Global Federation of LEGO Serious Play Master Trainers. This approval is a key quality standard and credential for SPG's facilitator certification programs. The federation sets standards for LSP training globally.
• LEGO Group / LEGO FoundationminorOthersSPG is a licensed trainer organization that uses LEGO products in its methodology. LEGO Group holds trademarks on LEGO, SERIOUS PLAY, and related branding. The LEGO Foundation funds play research and supports organizations like Care for Education. Dr. Stuart Brown from the LEGO Foundation accepted a SPG award at the 2024 conference.
• Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPG hosts its Master Facilitator Certification training at Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business Center in Malibu, CA. Dr. Steve Ralph, a licensed SPG trainer, is associated with Pepperdine. The venue provides classroom facilities for multi-day training events.
• HappiitudeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHappiitude is a happiness and mindfulness company based in India that organized the Happiithon 2025 Global Happiness Experience. SPG certified trainer Gul Gursoy hosted a session at the event, combining Playsonality concepts with Happiitude's happiness framework. Over 40 coaches from various countries participated.
• Royal Roads UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPG's founder Jacquie Lloyd Smith is pursuing a doctorate in social sciences at Royal Roads University. SPG conducts workshops at the university and collaborated on research projects including the 'Design a Disaster' climate preparedness game with the Resilience by Design Lab at Royal Roads. Jacquie earned two academic awards (leadership and communicating research ideas) at Royal Roads in 2025.
• EPIC International SummitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSPG is a sponsor and active participant in the EPIC International Summit (Santa Barbara, CA). SPG delivers breakout sessions on Elements Leadership and Playsonality. Dr. Steve Ralph is the conference founder. The event is a key marketing and networking channel for SPG.
• United NationscoreOthersSPG has multiple engagements with the United Nations including training the in-house team at UN headquarters in NYC and running Creative Conflict Management workshops. Paola Matarazzo from the UN's CDOTS department is a featured speaker at the SPG Conference. The UN also uses SPG methods in-house at locations globally. Paola began leading workshops independently at the UN in 2025.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Art of Hosting: Global community and methodology for hosting meaningful conversations and participatory leadership. Similar ethos of experiential facilitation and a worldwide practitioner network, though training is not monetized through certification.
• Liberating Structures: Open-source facilitation methodology with a global community of practitioners using structured microstructures for group facilitation. Highly comparable facilitation methodology community, though it does not monetize via certification fees.
• ExperiencePoint: Provider of business-simulation-based experiential learning for enterprise customers (e.g., Disney, IBM). Comparable in using hands-on, play-based methods for corporate strategy and innovation training.
• Human Synergistics: Organizational development assessments and consulting for culture change, leadership, and team effectiveness. Comparable in OD/leadership assessments and facilitation tools sold through a partner/trainer network.
• Root Learning: Experience-based leadership and team development firm delivering custom workshops for Fortune 500 enterprise clients. Comparable in experiential facilitation methodology, premium B2B positioning, and enterprise training focus.
• Insights Discovery: Global personal effectiveness and leadership training company using a color-coded personality/behavioral framework, with a worldwide certified facilitator network delivering enterprise workshops. Closely mirrors SPG's facilitator-certification-plus-enterprise-workshop model across multiple languages and verticals.
• Six Seconds: Global emotional intelligence nonprofit that certifies a worldwide network of practitioners delivering EQ training to enterprises, governments, and educators. Same operating model as SPG: certify facilitators, monetize through certification fees and licensed delivery.

Emerging players

• The Humphrey Group: Leadership communication and presentation training for executives. Smaller scope than SPG but comparable in premium B2B facilitation/training positioning and executive-level buyer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Everything DiSC (Wiley): Workplace personality/behavior assessment owned by Wiley, with a massive global facilitator network delivering DiSC workshops. Significant overlap with SPG's Playsonality/assessment business but materially broader scale and distribution.
• Crucial Learning: Corporate training company offering courses in crucial conversations, leadership, and influence (formerly VitalSmarts). Broader curriculum portfolio but same enterprise training market and similar facilitator/partner distribution model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/StrategicPlayTraining
• Instagraminstagram.com/strategicplayglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strategic-play-group-ltd-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strategic Play Global