We can’t choose the game. We can’t choose the rules. We can only choose how we play. In finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified. In infinite games, like business or politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game; there is only ahead and behind.
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Check out our on-demand course, The Infinite Game Book Club.
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The 5 Practices
We can’t choose the game. We can’t choose the rules. We can only choose how we play. Any leader who wants to adopt an infinite mindset must follow these five essential practices.
- 3 mins
1. Just Cause
Organizations have to offer their employees a Cause so Just that they would be willing to sacrifice their own interests to advance it.
- 9 mins
2. Trusting Teams
How do we create an environment in which our people can work at their natural best? We have to ensure the psychological safety of our teams.
- 5 mins
3. Worthy Rival
A worthy rival is another player in the game that's worthy of comparison. They reveal our weaknesses that are opportunities to improve ourselves.
- 7 mins
4. Existential Flexibility
If you're not willing to blow up your own company, the market will do it for you. You must have the capacity to make a profound strategic shift in order to advance your Cause.
- 14 mins
5. Courage to Lead
It's unbelievably hard to keep a Just Cause in mind as the guiding principle, especially if you have to make decisions that hurt in the short term.
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Our lives are finite, but life is infinite. We are the finite players in the infinite game of life. We come and go, we're born and we die, and life still continues with us or without us.
-Simon Sinek
I wrote this book not to convert those who defend the status quo, I wrote this book to rally those who are ready to challenge that status quo and replace it with a reality that is vastly more conducive to our deep-seated human need to feel safe, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to provide for ourselves and our families. A reality that works for our best interests as individuals, as companies, as communities and as a species. If we believe in a world in which we can feel inspired, safe and fulfilled every single day and if we believe that leaders are the ones who can deliver on that vision, then it is our collective responsibility to find, teach and support those who are committed to leading in a way that will more likely bring that vision to life. And one of the steps we need to take is to learn what it means to lead in the Infinite Game.
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The Infinite Game is the latest of Simon’s published works and is both a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. It dives into and expands upon Dr. James Carse’s Finite and Infinite Games, particularly in how game theory pertains to business.
In finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified.
In infinite games, like business or politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined endpoint.
Buy the Book
Other Ways to Learn about The Infinite Game
Leading With an Infinite Mindset Live Online Class
Join one of Simon’s Master Trainers to learn the rules of the Infinite Game.
The Infinite Game Team-Building Program
Grab your team and dive into the lessons of The Infinite Game together.
Get in touch with our Experiences Team and shift your company’s mindset.
The Infinite Game Private Class
Grow together with your team in a private Infinite Game online class.
Play Video
The 5 Practices
We can’t choose the game. We can’t choose the rules. We can only choose how we play. Any leader who wants to adopt an infinite mindset must follow these five essential practices.
- 3 mins
1. Just Cause
Organizations have to offer their employees a Cause so Just that they would be willing to sacrifice their own interests to advance it.
- 9 mins
2. Trusting Teams
How do we create an environment in which our people can work at their natural best? We have to ensure the psychological safety of our teams.
- 5 mins
3. Worthy Rival
A worthy rival is another player in the game that's worthy of comparison. They reveal our weaknesses that are opportunities to improve ourselves.
- 7 mins
4. Existential Flexibility
If you're not willing to blow up your own company, the market will do it for you. You must have the capacity to make a profound strategic shift in order to advance your Cause.
- 14 mins
5. Courage to Lead
It's unbelievably hard to keep a Just Cause in mind as the guiding principle, especially if you have to make decisions that hurt in the short term.
See All Videos
FAQs
An infinite game is one with known and unknown players, changeable rules, and no end. The objective is not to win—the objective is to keep playing.
Most sports, such as baseball or football, are great examples of finite games. Infinite Games, however, are things like business, marriage, and education.
As a leader, having an infinite mindset means that you put aside your ego. They know that they are a part of something bigger and constantly seek ways to grow and leave a legacy. For a leader with an infinite mindset, the goal is never to “be the best”, but rather to be better everyday.
To lead with an infinite mindset, one must uphold these five pillars: 1) find a just cause, 2) build trusting teams, 3) study worthy rivals, 4) prepare for existential flexibility, and 5) demonstrate the courage to lead.
A leader with a finite mindset views situations in life as either wins or losses, regarding their opponents as competition. A leader with an infinite mindset works toward the common good and knows that the only person they are trying to improve upon is themselves.
You can find videos of Simon talking about The Infinite Game on our YouTube channel. He also talks about the Infinite Game often on his podcast, A Bit of Optimism. If you would like to hear more of Simon’s lessons, we welcome you to check out his various TED Talks via our Videos page.
Infinite games are just that: Infinite. They don’t have a finish line. And because there is no finish line, there is no such thing as “winning” an infinite game. In an infinite game, the primary objective is to keep playing, with the best outcome possible being that you end your turn happy with your progress in it.
Simon wrote this book not to convert those who defend the status quo, but to rally those who are ready to challenge that status quo and replace it with a reality that is vastly more conducive to our deep-seated human need to feel safe, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to provide for ourselves and our families.
If we believe in a world in which we can feel inspired, safe and fulfilled every single day and if we believe that leaders are the ones who can deliver on that vision, then it is our collective responsibility to find, teach and support those who are committed to leading in a way that will more likely bring that vision to life. And one of the steps we need to take is to learn what it means to lead in the Infinite Game.
You May Also Like
Start With Why
Find Your Why
Leaders Eat Last
