The Infinite Game

by Simon Sinek

This is the oft-invoked response we hear from executives when questioned about their responsibility for the negative effects of their products.

With each ethical transgression that is tolerated, we pave the road for more and bigger ethical transgressions.

And the more we all allow such decisions to be made, the more such behavior becomes “normal” or the “industry standard.”

Lazy Leadership chooses to put their efforts into building processes to fix the problems rather than building support for their people.

There’s a great irony in all this. When we apply finite-minded solutions to address an ethical fading problem that finite-minded thinking created, we get more ethical fading. When we use process and structure to fix cultural problems what we often get is more lying and cheating. Little lies become bigger lies. And the behavior becomes normalized.

If ethical fading can happen in places where integrity is taken really seriously, like the military, then it can happen anywhere.

Ethical fading, however, is a people problem.

The best antidote—and inoculation—against ethical fading is an infinite mindset.

Leaders who give their people a Just Cause to advance and give them an opportunity to work with a Trusting Team to advance it will build a culture in which their people can work toward the short-term goals while also considering the morality, ethics and wider impact of the decisions they make to meet those goals.

Leaders are responsible for the people who are responsible for the results.

Cultures that are ethically strong are also a result of the culture the leaders build.

There is no value in picking other players whom we constantly outflank simply to make ourselves feel superior. That has little to no value to our own growth.

This is what a Worthy Rival does for us. They push us in a way that few others can. Not even our coach.

A Worthy Rival inspires us to take on an attitude of improvement.

The former focuses our attention on the outcome, the latter focuses our attention on process. That simple shift in perspective immediately changes how we see our own businesses. It is the focus on process and constant improvement that helps reveal new skills and boosts resilience.

Another reason to adjust our perspective toward seeing strong players in our field as Worthy Rivals is it helps keep us honest.

Upholding the values by which we operate becomes more important than the score, which actually motivates us to be more honest (organizations or politicians who choose to do the right thing rather than what helps them get ahead are good examples).

“We’re not going to put out vehicles where demand is not there and then discount and make it even worse.”

And that meant it had to relearn to make cars that people actually wanted to drive.

Henry Ford’s original Just Cause: to provide safe and efficient transportation for everyone, to open the highways to all mankind.