“The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek
According to Simon Sinek, there are 2 types of games: finite games and infinite games.
Finite games, Sinek remarks, “are played by known players. They have fixed rules. And there is an agreed-upon objective that, when reached, ends the game.” Sports is a good example of this, where there are clear rules of the game, exact number of players, and agreed upon time or scores to be met in order to determine a winner.
By contrast, infinite game “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.”
Moreover, “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 objective is to keep playing, to perpetuate the game.” Marriage and friendship is a prime example of this. Education is another example, where despite formal education can finish after graduation, self-education like reading this book has no time limit. Business is also an infinite game, and this is where a lot of executives and analysts often get it wrong.
This book is about the contrasting difference between finite mindset and infinite mindset. It shows, among others, the mistake of having a finite approach over an infinite game that brings disaster to the company, like the story of the fall of BlackBerry and Kodak told vividly in the book. It shows how Castle Rock police department can regain the public’s trust by simply changing their finite appraisal system into an infinite one. It shows the infinite solution over a short-term finite mess that turned a company from the verge of bankruptcy into a thriving business, like how American Airline and Ford revived their respective businesses.
The book also tells the tales of acknowledging a Worthy Competitor and embracing them to grow together, like in the case with Apple and IBM. A story about Flexing out of the original venture to continue a Just Cause, like how Walt Disney quit the cartoon division in his company to create Disneyland. It also has an argument that trust is the most important commodity, which is explained through the story of the Navy Seal. A story that shows moral righteousness is not the easiest path to take but the right thing to do, like the story of Patagonia. And the cautionary tales of ethical fading and moral bankruptcy, from the stories of Wells Fargo and EpiPen scandals.
Perhaps my favourite takeaway from this book is Sinek’s argument against the current zeitgeist that the number 1 priority of a company is to enhance the wealth of the shareholder. This is exactly what I was surprised about nearly 2 decades ago when I first heard it at university in a finance class. Surely it doesn’t sound right? I love Sinek’s borderline contempt over Milton Friedman, who came up with this idea and practically created the predatory capitalism environment today.
This thinking, according to Sinek, is a short-term finite mindset in an infinite game of business, which creates a hyper sensitive environment where EPS and stock price movement – among other short-term metrics – become the ultimate measure. He then proceeded to show that companies that first prioritize the wellbeing of its employees, will, in the long run, have a healthy working environment based on trust, which will then produce the best outcome for the business, and eventually generate a better profit for the shareholders. The story of CVS vs. Walgreens is a fascinating take on this, contrasting the two approaches that these health-focused companies took in the matter of selling cigarettes in their repective stores.
There are a lot more technical stuffs about finite vs. infinite mindset in this book, such as resources vs. will, about company culture, on fighting for a Just Cause vs. focusing only on growth, the difference between companies who layoff employees during hardtimes and those who share the burden, and so much more. Sinek even showed how capitalism used to work before Milton Friedman (which, spoiler alert, is how Warren Buffett is still approaching his investment strategy till this day).
And the best part is, Sinek wrote these fascinating insights and stories in a crystal clear way that directly show the contrasting difference between finite mentality and infinite mentality. So much so that once we read the book it immediately becomes clear by just reading the news which companies (or any fields for that matter) that have a leader with finite or infinite mindset, and we can get the general feel of how their venture is doing. Such an important book to read.
THE CHAOS THEORY 