Are You Playing a Finite or Infinite Game?
It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about ensuring the game plays on
If there’s one theme that seems to drive politics and business right now, it’s “who can score the next point?” Whether it’s a political leader trying to gain an advantage for their party, or a business leader trying to beat a competitor, everyone is engaged in a short-term win-lose mindset.
In order for me to win, someone else has to lose. This mindset is destructive and it’s the source of many of our problems today. What if, instead of trying to spike the ball in the end zone and declare the game over, we focused on improving our personal skills and ensuring the game plays on so that all may benefit?
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey describes this possibility in his book Conscious Leadership. He shares how conscious leaders must think long term—and that means not being shortsighted about temporary wins. Mackey cites James Carse, who authored Finite and Infinite Games:
For Carse, an infinite game is an open-ended game in which the purpose is not simply to “win” but to continue the game. It’s a long-term endeavor that keeps changing and developing as it moves forward. A finite game, on the other hand, is one more like [a] win-lose scenario…with defined boundaries, specific rules, a finish line and a clear winner and loser.
Mackey also cites Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game, and notes that leaders have to decide how they are going to play this game of life and business. Sinek observes:
Infinite games have infinite terms…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. The benefits of which, ironically, often make companies stronger in the near term also.”
Mackey believes “we need conscious leaders who are willing to become masters of long-term thinking.” These are leaders who have the wisdom to look beyond “coming out on top in short-term, win-lose competitions” and instead focus on “endlessly inventing and creating new arenas of cooperation and competition.”
As a conscious leader, consider the following:
What kind of game are you playing?
Are you thinking long-term or short-term?
Are you thinking generationally for your company, team, life, and impact?
What difference could you make by setting long-term goals with exponential impact?
If this is an area where you know you need growth, working with a coach will help you begin thinking long-term. It’s time for all of us to move from a short-term to long-term mindset so we can start, as Mackey describes it, “gardening for infinity.”
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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