NewLeaf will help demonstrate the first-ever LEGO® product specifically designed for adults at the SAMA (Strategic Account Management Association) 38th Annual Conference on April 29th, 2002. The LEGO product helps business managers develop strategy by fusing the imaginative dynamics of the LEGO bricks with the liberating power of play.

Based on research proving that learning that happens during "play" produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is an innovative and effective process that can work for everyone within the enterprise. Participants come away with skills to express themselves more effectively, to engage their imaginations more readily, and to approach their work with increased confidence, commitment and insight.

The first application of LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, called Real Time Strategy, is an adult learning tool designed to transform strategic planning into a viable process of continuous strategizing. It replaces strategic plans with Simple Guiding Principles.

Certified facilitators guide sessions where teams capture complex ideas in a three-dimensional format that is far superior to a paper-based approach. For example, writing, "our competitors are faster to market than we are" is far less compelling than constructing a competitor as a rocket next to your own horse and carriage.

NewLeaf uses innovative tools and creativity like LEGO SERIOUS PLAY to develop effective skills and strategies that enable a salesforce to create profitable customer partnerships.

"In uncertain times, which in reality describes most times, strategy that is not 'real time' is simply too late," said Sam Barcus, Managing Director, NewLeaf Partners. "In today's increasingly fast-paced and unpredictable world, binder-bound strategies and how-to rules simply don't work. They are outdated almost as soon as they are written. And, as every Account Manager knows, this clearly applies to the limitations of traditional account strategy and planning. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is a wonderful antidote because it uses play and imagination to create strategies that unfold and evolve as the environment changes."

"NewLeaf's unique approach to helping organizations unlock the value of their sales organizations using innovative tools and methodologies is a natural fit with LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, which offers a powerful environment to construct and communicate complex issues and explore different business scenarios," said Robert Rasmussen, President, Executive Discovery, LLC. "What is learned in the process of creating LEGO models sinks much deeper than what is learned in a conventional strategy-making session. Using your hands to make something 'real' yields a rich, personal learning experience. We call it 'giving your mind a hand.'"

A Real Time Strategy session begins with participants building the Identity of their company using LEGO bricks. Identity means using metaphors and story making to express the characteristics of the company, its process, communications, services and core competencies. For example, is your company more like a fortress or a race car? Small and dense or large and interconnected? The group then builds a representation of the Landscape around the business-the suppliers, clients, competitors and how they are interconnected. From there, with an emphasis on how these "Agents" are interconnected, the model is used to explore different scenarios.

Simple Guiding Principles emerge once Identity and Landscape are defined. They are a set of truths that, when taken together, guide a team or organization to act strategically in the moment. Simple Guiding Principles power the strategic dimension of acting with intent and the tactical dimension of real-time decision making. When you hit a decision "fork in the road," your Simple Guiding Principles enable you to determine which direction best aligns with your Landscape and Identity.

The process creates a shared sense of direction and empowers people to make the right decisions in any situation. Additional information can be found at www.seriousplay.com.

About NewLeaf:

NewLeaf Partners www.newleafpartners.com is a global sales and marketing consulting firm dedicated to helping customers master the art, science and savvy of effective customer relationships. The company has a set of methodologies, tools and metrics that help sales organizations build a strong foundation of trust and alignment with key customers that results in long- term, profitable partnerships. NewLeaf has offices in Nashville, TN, Dallas and Houston, TX, Atlanta, GA, Silicon Valley, Frankfurt, Germany, and Zug, Switzerland. Customers include Cisco Systems, LEGO® Serious Play, Alcatel, Nestle, AT&T, and E.on.

About LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY(TM):

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY(TM) Lego Serious Play is an adult learning tool designed to enhance business performance. Executive Discovery LLC is the corporate entity - associated with Lego Company that develops and manages the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY brand.