Building A Thriving Business (What's at the VERY CORE) Pt 18

Everything in life is a game! But which game are you playing? According to Simon Sinek, renowned management consultant and Dr James Carse, there are two types of games; the infinite game and the finite game. The finite game has known players, an agreed upon objective, with given set of rules, constraints or time frames. After every game, there is a winner and a loser. And, even after the game is over, the players still exist, till a new game comes along. Not the same for an infinite game. An infinite game has both known and unknown players, with the objective to perpetuate the game for as long as possible; that is, those with the will and resources can stay in the game for as long as possible, because they’re fighting for a just cause, not just the satisfaction of reaching finite goals. Moreover, there are no pre-defined set of rules or constraints, hence, no one can be declared as the winner or loser.

What Game Are You Playing?

The problem occurs when you don’t know what game you are playing. For example, marriage, government administrations, businesses are infinite games; there are no winners, except you want a divorce, vulnerable/declining economy or to declare bankruptcy/be bought over. When a finite player is pit against another finite player, or an infinite player against another infinite player, the system is stable. Instability occurs, when there’s a change in the mindset of one of the players. This was the case in the Vietnam war; the American troops were fighting with a finite mindset, whereas the opposition had an infinite mindset; they were fighting for their lives. It eventually led to the US pulling their troops out in 1973, because of the growing tension in the US, due to costs and casualties of the war. In 1975, South Vietnam was invaded and the controlling power swung to the communist advocates. The US might have won most of the major battles, but they lost the war.

The Infinite Mindset

A company with an infinite mindset, builds trust, cooperation and encourages innovation, because the people feel safe to be themselves, without fear of retribution, or humiliation. They place more emphasis, though not lopsided, on employees rather than customers and shareholders. Their customer doesn’t always come first, at the expense of the people that make the offering possible. It’s people first, customer second, shareholders third. That’s why the employees are loyal; they will sacrifice their time, comfort, personal lives and money for the organization, because they know the leadership will do the same for them.

What Needs To Be Done

Our society has been running on the fuel of the finite mindset since the 1980’s, when lay-offs where introduced as a strategic move to cut cost or maximize profit. It’s ingrained in us. So as a proponent of an infinite mindset, you need COURAGE and EMPATHY to keep sticking your finger where the crack has formed in the finite culture, and encourage others who are open to the idea to embrace it, so that the ideal of a safe workplace, that brings fulfillment, is within reach every day.