The Infinite Game

by Simon Sinek

This default win-lose mode can sometimes work for the short term; however, as a strategy for how companies and organizations operate, it can have grave consequences over the longer term.

When we say things like “people must come before profit,” we often face resistance.

I wrote this book not to convert those who defend the status quo,

Tết is the Lunar New Year and it is as significant to the Vietnamese as Christmas is to many Westerners.

Over the course of the ten years in which U.S. troops were active in the Vietnam War, America lost 58,000 troops. North Vietnam lost over 3 million people. As a percent of population, that’s the equivalent of America losing 27 million people in 1968.

Finite games are played by known players. They have fixed rules. And there is an agreed-upon objective that, when reached, ends the game. Football, for example, is a finite game.

Infinite games, in contrast, are played by known and unknown players. There are no exact or agreed-upon rules. Though there may be conventions or laws that govern how the players conduct themselves, within those broad boundaries, the players can operate however they want.

And if they choose to break with convention, they can. The manner in which each player chooses to play is entirely up to them. And they can change how they play the game at any time, for any reason.

Infinite games have infinite time horizons. And because there is no finish line, no practical end to the game, there is no such thing as “winning” an infinite game. In an infinite game, the primary...

It was Carse’s book that first got me thinking beyond winning and losing, beyond ties and stalemates.

“beating their competition.”

to succeed in the Infinite Game of business, we have to stop thinking about who wins or who’s the best and start thinking about how to build organizations that are strong enough and healthy enough to stay in the game for many generations to come.

At the Apple event, 100 percent of the presenters spent 100 percent of their time talking about how Apple was trying to help teachers teach and help students learn.

The true value of an organization is measured by the desire others have to contribute to that organization’s ability to keep succeeding, not just during the time they are there, but well beyond their own tenure.

Players with an infinite mindset want to leave their organizations in better shape than they found them.

products they think they can sell to people, the infinite-minded player makes products that people want to buy. The former is primarily focused on how the sale of those products benefits the company; the latter is primarily focused on how the products benefit those who buy them.

George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, was devoted to his vision of making photography easy and accessible to everyone.

A company built for resilience is a company that is structured to last forever. This is different from a company built for stability.

Vietnam. The

In the Infinite Game of business, when our leaders maintain a finite mindset or put too much focus on finite objectives, they may be able to achieve a number one ranking with an arbitrary metric over an arbitrary time frame.

Consumed by the finite game, Microsoft became obsessed with quarterly numbers.

According to a study by McKinsey, the average life span of an S&P 500 company has dropped over forty years since the 1950s, from an average of sixty-one years to less than eighteen years today.

“enjoying life”

If we join a finite game, clearly we want to play by the right rules in order to increase our chances of winning.

The choice to lead with an infinite mindset is less like preparing for a football game and more like the decision to get into shape.

We can’t simply go to the gym for nine hours and expect to be in shape. However, if we go to the gym every single day for twenty minutes, we will absolutely get into shape. Consistency becomes more important than intensity.

Any leader who wants to adopt an infinite mindset must follow five essential practices: Advance a Just Cause Build Trusting Teams Study your Worthy Rivals Prepare for Existential Flexibility Demonstrate the Courage to Lead

Regardless of how we choose to play, it is essential that we be honest with ourselves and others about our choice—for our choice makes ripples.

About twenty-five years before the siege began, a young botanist named Nikolai Vavilov started building his seed collection.

What started as idealism eventually became a highly focused cause for Vavilov.

“We shall go into the pyre, we shall burn, but we shall not retreat from our convictions.”

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 in order to help advance toward that vision.

A Just Cause is not the same as our WHY. A WHY comes from the past. It is an origin story.

Think of the WHY like the foundation of a house, it is the starting point. It gives whatever we build upon it strength and permanence. Our Just Cause is the ideal vision of the house we hope to build.

But do those words really inspire people to want to offer their blood, sweat or tears?

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“We only hire passionate people”

“Hire for culture and you can always teach the skills later.”

This is what “servant leadership” means. It means the primary benefit of the contributions flows downstream.

A written cause works like a compass.

Until they can check all five boxes, however, what they offer simply isn’t a Just Cause.

An organization that has a false cause is not a bad company, it just means they may have a little more work to do.

“We choose to go to the moon,”

The so-called moon shot is often invoked by leaders who are trying to inspire their people to reach for something that seems impossible.

In the case of Kennedy’s actual moon shot, it is affirmative and specific. It is inclusive, service oriented and definitely worthy of sacrifice. However, it is not infinite. No matter how hard the challenge, no matter how impossible it seemed, the moon shot was an achievable, finite goal.

During employee town hall meetings at GE, some of the employees would express concern that the company was too focused on the short term. Jack Welch, then CEO, was fond of replying, “Long term is just a series of short terms.”

“finite exhaustion.”

Moon shots are bold, inspiring finite goals within the Infinite Game, not instead of the Infinite Game.

“We will be the global leader in every market we serve and our products will be sought after for their compelling design, superior quality, and best value.”

“Where are you going?”