The Infinite Game

Introduction

Simon Sinek's book, The Infinite Game, inspired by Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility (1986) by Professor James P. Carse, challenges the way we typically view business and competition.

• The book advocates for a shift in mindset, urging us to move away from the short-term, "win-at-all-costs" mentality and instead embrace an infinite game approach to navigate the recurring periods of economic growth and decline.

The Myth of Winning in Business

If at least two players are involved, a game exists. These games fall into two categories: finite and infinite.

• Finite games, like football or chess, involve known players, fixed rules and a clear endpoint (win or lose).
• In contrast, infinite games, like business or life itself, have no defined endpoint. Players come and go, with no clear winners or losers, only those who are ahead or behind at a given moment. Unlike finite games with set rules, infinite games are more fluid, with players determining their own strategies. The primary objective is to keep playing and perpetuate the game itself.

Though our lives have an end, but life itself is infinite. We are finite players in the infinite game of life.

• We come and go, born and dying, yet life continues with or without us.
• We can keep playing this game until we run out of the ability to stay in the game.
• No matter how successful we are, life does not declare a winner at the end. Similarly, there is no single "winner" in business. Both life and business are journeys, not events.

Business perfectly exemplifies an infinite game.

• Players (companies) can enter at any time and choose their own strategies and tactics.
• While we might use periods like financial years to gauge performance against competition, the game itself has no finish line.
• Since winning or losing is not relevant in infinite games, players (companies) simply exit when they lack the resources or will to keep playing (e.g. bankruptcy, mergers or acquisitions)
  
• However, many business leaders focus heavily on beating the competition and achieving top rankings. These claims often rely on arbitrary time frames and metrics for comparison.

Undoubtedly, finite games are seductive and fun.

• In the same way as gambling, every win, every goal hit release a shot of dopamine in our bodies.

However, a finite mindset, with its unbalanced focus on short-term results, often resorts to any strategy or tactic to meet financial targets.

• Some favourable options include reducing investment in research and development, extreme cost cutting (e.g. regular rounds of layoffs, opting for cheaper, lower quality ingredients in products, cutting corners in manufacturing or quality control), growth through acquisition and stock buybacks.
• Employees caught in this environment eventually sense the growing instability and shift into self-preservation mode. This might manifest as hoarding information, hiding mistakes, and operating in a more cautious, risk-averse way. To protect themselves, they may trust no one and may even resort to sabotaging their own colleagues.

To succeed in the Infinite Game of business, we need to shift our focus from who wins or who is "best" to building resilient organizations that will thrive for generations.

• In contrast to finite-minded leaders who focus on extracting value from employees, customers and shareholders to meet arbitrary metrics, infinite-minded leaders prioritize inspiring these stakeholders to contribute their effort, loyalty and investment for the long term. Players with an infinite mindset want to leave their organizations in better shape than they found them.
• Infinite-minded players do not just make products they think they can sell; they make products people genuinely want to buy. This shift prioritizes the customer's needs, focusing on how the products benefit those who buy them, rather than solely focusing on how sales benefit the company.
• Infinite players expect and even enjoy surprises, seeing them as opportunities to transform and stay in the game. They embrace the freedom to experiment, explore new possibilities and foresee the applications of new technology. This frees them from obsessing over competitors, allowing them to focus on their own grand vision.
• For long-term success and resilience in both good and bad times, intangible values like trust, cooperation, adaptability and innovation become the most valuable assets in which to invest.

Redefining Capitalism for Progress and Humanity

Simon Sinek argues that the current form of capitalism is flawed.

• Capitalism should encompass more than just prosperity, often measured in features and benefits, dollars and cents.
• It should also contribute to progress, which can be measured by quality of life, technological advancements and the ability of the human race to live and work together in peace.

The foundation for the theory of shareholder primacy, central to many finite-minded business today, was laid by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman in 1970.

• He wrote, “In a free-enterprise, private-property system, a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business. He has direct responsibility to his employers. That responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.”

Before Friedman, Adam Smith, the father of economics and modern capitalism, wrote: "Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer."

Today, short-sighted leaders prioritize immediate profits, even if it means sacrificing long-term benefits.

• This focus on the short term goals often employs tactics like massive layoff, comes at the expense of quality in the services or products we sell.
• Moreover, a culture solely focused on pressure, relentless demands, and short-term incentives can breed a dangerous phenomenon: ethical fading. This occurs when constant pressure erodes our moral compass, leading us to justify potentially unethical actions as simply "doing what it takes" to meet unrealistic goals (a stage of self-deception).
• Self-deception is a clever way to rationalize ethically questionable decisions.
• Consider the language we use: "Gamifying" something just means making it addictive. "Data mining" simply means tracking every little thing people do online. "Convenience fee" is just a sneaky way to say "extra charge".
• We remove ourselves from the chain of causation with “buyer beware" warnings, the thinking of “If they don’t like it, then they don’t have to buy it.” and the lengthy "accept the terms and conditions" agreements.
• Some view the demands as trivial that they existed outside of any standard of integrity or honesty.
• However, fulfilling legal obligations does not erase a company's ethical responsibility.

On the other hand, the definition of a company's responsibility in the "infinite game" of business must include:

• Advance a purpose: Offer people a sense of belonging and a feeling that their lives and their work have value beyond the physical work.
• Protect people: Operate our companies in a way that safeguards the people who work for us, the people who buy from us and the environments in which we live and work.
• Generate profit: Money remains the fuel for a business to remain viable and continue to advance the first two priorities.

Beyond Profits: Leading with a Just Cause

Any leader who wishes to lead in the Infinite Game must have a crystal clear Just Cause.

• A Just Cause is a specific vision of a future state that does not yet exist; a future state so appealing that people are willing to make sacrifices to help advance toward that vision.
• Unlike the fleeting joy of victory, a Just Cause keeps our days more fulfilling and makes us love our jobs every day beyond the finite rewards and individual wins.
• Some good examples of Just Cause are "All men are created equal", "To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more" and "To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food".

A Just Cause is not the same as our WHY.

• A WHY comes from the past, the origin of who we are (the sum total of our values and beliefs). It inspires people to take action when the WHY resonates with theirs.
• A Just Cause is about the future, where we are going or what we are building. A JUST CAUSE is a specific future state where the vast majority of people wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return fulfilled at the end of day.
• Different from the fundamental and unchanging WHY that we each hold on to, we can choose to join someone else's Just Cause(s) or pursue our own. Given that a Just Cause is something we have not build yet, we are constantly improving it too.
• In short, WHY is like the foundation of a house, while Just Cause is the ideal vision of the house we hope to build.

A Just Cause must be:

• For something - affirmative and optimistic
• Being for something is about feeling inspired and focusing our attention on the unbuilt future. It sparks our imaginations and motivates us to advance.
• Being against something creates a temporary sense of unity through a common enemy (e.g. poverty), making it a "winnable" game.
• Inclusive - open to all those who would like to contribute
• Human beings crave the feeling of belonging and want to feel a part of something.
• A Just Cause serves as an open invitation to inspire us to offer ideas, time, experience and energy in advancing a cause bigger than ourselves.
• A Just Cause is specific vision, not a generic promise to simply "change the world" or "make an impact".
• Service oriented - for the primary benefit of others
• The primary benefit of the organization's contributions must always go to people other than the contributors themselves.
• Service orientation does not mean charity where all the benefit flows to the recipient while contributors experience satisfaction from giving.
• In business pursuing a Just Cause, efforts should be fairly compensated, but not at the expense of the company, its employee or its customers.
• Service orientation is important to build a loyal base of employees and customers (and investors) who will stick with the organization through thick and thin.
• Resilient - able to endure political, technological and cultural change
• Our products and services are not the Just Cause, but some of the things we use to advance our Just Cause. Otherwise, the organization's entire existence is conditional on the relevance of those products.
• New technology could render products obsolete, such as railroad, book business, tapes and CDs.
• Idealistic - big, bold and ultimately unachievable
• No matter how much we achieved, we always feel we have further to go.
• The victories serve only as milestones of progress toward an idealized future.

Common “imposter causes” include

• Things like moon shots
• No matter how hard the challenge, no matter how impossible it seemed at first, landing on the moon was ultimately an achievable, finite goal.
• An infinite game goes beyond the repetitive cycle of achieving a short-term wins. In an infinite game, the work itself hold significance, fostering a sense of purpose that transcends immediate victories..
• A drive to “be the best”
• Efforts should be focused on the needs and aspirations of real people who will ultimately use the product, rather than solely on creating a successful product in a vacuum.
• Vision statements that place the product at the centre are only useful if no new technology invented to replace and there is no deviation in market conditions.
• "Best" is no a permanent state, strive to be "better" instead.
• Mistaking “growth” for purpose
• Many of the goals that companies put forward tend to be arbitrary or overly ambitious,
• Growth is a result, not a reason for being. Growth without purpose can ultimately lead to stagnation or a loss of direction.
• Confusing with corporate social responsibility (CSR) program
• The way a company makes its money and the way it gives it away must both contribute to advancing the Just Cause.

Upon joining an organization and interacting with its people, it does not take long to see if their Just Case is a genuine belief or just a marketing ploy of hollow words.

NOTE: When employees are promoted to management, it is crucial for them to adapt to their new roles and responsibilities and embrace an infinite mindset. Otherwise, they will likely default to the skills that made them successful in their previous roles, hindering their effectiveness as leaders.

Leading for Dedication: Fostering a Thriving Workplace

When faced with a drop in performance or any issues, the easy answer is to blame employees. Then, we create new processes that mask the problems, but never address the root cause.

• However, the real key lies in fostering an environment where they can naturally excel. This responsibility falls squarely on leadership.
• Leaders who prioritize employee's will (e.g. morale, motivation, inspiration and commitment) before the resources they can produce, employees are more likely to dedicate themselves fully to their work, or even go the extra miles during challenging times.
• A simple conversation about how people are doing or what challenges they face can be a powerful starting point.

Many short-sighted leaders focus solely on saving money by neglecting employee investment.

• This approach comes with hidden costs: high recruitment expenses to fill vacancies, lost productivity from inexperienced staff, and the negative impact of low morale in high-turnover environments.

In tough economic times, infinite-minded leaders see beyond financial pressure and prioritize people over short-term profits whenever possible.

• True dedication (will) does not come from external motivators, like pay, bonuses or perks alone.

Creating a safe space for employees to express themselves openly fosters positive relationships, which builds psychological safety and trust - the foundation for a truly thriving workplace.

• In a trusting team, we can be open and honest.
• We are comfortable admitting mistakes, asking for help and taking responsibility for our actions.

Beyond Winning: The Power of Worthy Rivals

Competition is often seen as a finite game, focused solely on winning against the other side.

• However, in an infinite game, we shift our perspective. We stop viewing other players as mere competitors to be beaten and start considering them as Worthy Rivals who can help us improve.
• A Worthy Rivals is someone who excels in some (or many) areas, whether it be superior products, stronger customer loyalty or exceptional leadership.
• We do not necessarily need to admire, agree with, or even like them, but we acknowledge their strengths and potential for learning.

To truly excel in the infinite game, we need a Worthy Rival who constantly exposes our weaknesses and pushes us towards continuous improvement, preventing us from repeating past mistakes.

• By removing the pressure of a win-at-all-costs mentality, we feel less compelled to resort to unethical or illegal tactics.
• More importantly, we can dedicate less time and energy to worry and focus on progress.
• The infinite game embraces an abundance mindset, acknowledging that multiple players can thrive simultaneously. Striving to be the absolute best is futile in this context.

Losing a key Worthy Rival, the one who pushed us the most, can leave a big gap.

• Unlike a team with substitutes, new rivals in the infinite game may take years to emerge Nonetheless, the wise player stays humble even in loss, knowing a worthy challenger will eventually rise.
• Without that external pressure, internal competition can intensify, leading to destructive internal fighting.

Beyond Disruption: Existential Flexibility for Business Survival

Today's rapid pace of change can force companies out of the game, but the culprit is solely new technology or changing consumer habits.

• The real culprit is shortsighted leadership that fails to envision the future, like Kodak's resistance to digital photography. Their business model, heavily ingrained in film products, blinded them to the potential of a new era.
• In contrast, Steve Jobs embraced the potential of the graphical user interface, revolutionizing the computer industry with the Macintosh.

Existential Flexibility is the willingness to make radical changes to a business model or strategy, driven by a Just Cause.

• Think of Walt Disney abandoning traditional entertainment to create the immersive world of Disneyland - a radical departure that offered families a joyful escape.
• Infinite-minded leaders look beyond their industry and far into the future, embracing the unpredictable to advance their Just Case. This requires imagination and the courage to abandon the comfort of a successful model.

This proactive transformation risks the certainty of the present for the uncertainty of a new path, one that could lead to extraordinary growth or a company's demise.

• The change may be disruptive to the existing business model, but clinging to a dying model and letting it collapse is a worse fate.

Finding the Courage to Lead the Infinite Game

The Courage to Lead is a willingness to take risks for the good of an unknown future.

• These decisions can be costly in the short term, forcing us to sacrifice our resources or even our careers.
• Consider CVS's decision to stop selling cigarettes. This move seemed radical to those with a traditional view, but it was simply the right thing to do in long-term.
• Also, announcing layoffs at the end of the year to meet arbitrary projections requires less strength than exploring untested but potentially better options.

How do we find the courage to adopt this infinite mindset?

• One approach is to wait passively for a life-altering experience that changes our core.
• The second method requires a bit of faith, discipline and a willingness to practice.
• Identify a Just Cause that inspires you, one that compels you to push beyond limitations.
• Surround yourself with people who share your passion and vision. Trust and mutual support are essential.
• Identify a Worthy Rival who pushes you to constantly improve.
• Remember, your commitment lies with the Just Cause, not a specific path. Be adaptable and willing to adjust strategies as needed.

Summary

The infinite, long-term view is never a novel practice

• Throughout history, the rise of great societies, advancements in science and medicine and the exploration of space all stemmed from large groups collaborating with a shared vision for the future, not immediate rewards.
  
• After each setback and accomplishment, we learned and kept going, driven by the feeling of contributing to something great that would endure beyond our lifetimes.
  

However, the Industrial Revolution ushered in an era of short-term, finite thinking in commence and capitalism. We have become accustomed to seeking quick fixes for problems and prioritizing immediate gains to advance personal ambitions.

• This focus on winning and losing has led to predictable consequences: annual mass layoffs to meet unrealistic projections, cutthroat workplaces, prioritizing shareholders over employees and customers, and unethical practices.
• We reward high-performing but toxic team members, ignoring the damage they cause, and leaders who prioritize themselves over their teams.
• These factors contribute to declining loyalty, disengagement and rising insecurity and anxiety.

To create a world filled with inspiration, fulfilment and security, we need great leaders with vision who can guide organizations to transcend the "short-term" versus "long-term" dichotomy.

• These leaders must establish adaptable and evolving organizations that leave a lasting legacy, extending far beyond their own tenure.
  
• One of their primary jobs include to cultivate new future leaders equipped for the Infinite Game.