Organizations with an intinite game mindset , whose goals are long term oriented always try to make their “will” and “resources” stronger to frustrate the “will” and exhaust “resources” of other players who employ a finite mindset consisting of short term goals.
Simon Sinek brings out this point very aptly in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
Highlighted below is an extract from Simon Sinek’s book titled “The Infinite Game” on modern day leadership responsibility.
Leaders are not responsible for results, leaders are responsible for people who are in turn responsible for the results.
Very thought provoking , practical and to me is a leadership masterclass.
Performance at work is more related to technical competence.Whereas trust is more related to the character of a person.
With NAVY SEALs it has often been found that a person high on performance low on trust is regarded as “toxic” & hence often ostracized.This is simply because of the fact that such a person is more prone to 1) Blame others 2) Talk non-sense about others 3) can have a negative influence on other team members 4) exhibits narcissism
Thus in situations where collaboration is of prime importance , trust is the most important need , even a low performance can be tolerated.
Simon Sinek brings out this point in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” makes a mention of SHELL URSA and highlights how as a result of having trusting team members the audacious project could turn into a grand success.
Shell URSA initiative was to drill as deep as three thousand feet below ocean level to extract oil.Not only was this a very audacious initiative but equally dangerous for the members involved in this task.
When the team members were taught the value of collaboration , made to feel safe in each other’s company they could express their vulnerabilities in the expectation that collaboration would save the day , come what may the situation.
As a result of trusting teams , encouragement of collaborative environment by Rick Fox , the project ran at 99% up time and production was 43% more than industry standards.
Teams are building blocks of any organization.When there is trust among individuals in a team , people care for each other , collaborate with each other which ultimately leads to high performance.
On the contrary when teams lack trust , results may be achieved at the expense of relationships and a healthy work culture.This may work out in the short term but in the long term may lead to disastrous consequences.
Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” , highlights the difference between “Trusting” teams and “transaction” oriented teams.
The table below enlists some of the most importance differences to showcase the need to having “trusting teams” for playing an infinite game.
| Trusting Teams | “Transaction” based Teams |
| Trust based relationships make each of the member feel safe to express vulnerabilities. | Relationships purely transaction oriented with no importance attached to trust. |
| Collaborative environment since trust is a biological constant. Members “love” their jobs. | Competitive environment where members are willing to fake, lie and be deceitful for hike, rewards etc. Members at best “like” their jobs. |
| Nurtured by leaders with an infinite game mindset | Mostly nurtured by leaders who are short term goal oriented e.g. having finite mindset |
| Environment we associate with most of the iconic and high performance organizations e.g. Apple , COSTCO etc. | Environment we associate with short term goal and result oriented organizations |
“Will” and “Resources” are the most important components in a game of business.
Investing in “will” and prioritizing it over “resources” needs to be based on a “just cause” and not monetary benefits alone.This may not have immediate short term benefits but when done in the right manner can influence human behavior , lead to happy employees who “love” their jobs and in turn satisfy customers and shareholders.
Since this path is difficult to traverse , finite mindset leaders often tend to prioritize “resources” by trying to motivate workers with short term monetary benefits in order to realize short term gains.This without realizing the long term harmful impact to the organization as a whole.
These points have been very aptly highlighted by Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
Shown below are some of the notable differences between the two.
|
Will |
Resources |
| Deals with human elements such as motivation, inspiration, commitment etc. of employees. Is under the control of leadership and can be nurtured | Deals with financial metrics. Macro and micro factors that influence resources cannot be controlled or predicted. |
| Infinite and mostly long-term oriented. When influenced this can automatically take care of resources. | Finite and mostly short term oriented |
| Make this the first priority will always make employees “love” their jobs | Making this the first priority will at most make employees “like” their jobs |
| Cannot be motivated by “monetary benefits” alone | Mostly influenced by focusing on “monetary rewards” & “rewards”. |
| Always the first priority of infinite mindset leaders | Always the first priority of finite mindset leaders for whom number dominate anything else |
In any game be it life or business “resources” & “will” are the two key components.
“Resources” is tangible and is the sum total of all financial metrics that measure the health of an organization.
“Will” is intangible and is sum total of all the human elements that measure the health of an organization.
Needless to say a short sighted leader focuses on resources over will at the detriment of the overall organizational health.
Resources cannot be ignored thought since this is what enables an organization to keep playing.
The need in the modern day organization is to strike a balance between the two so that a focus on “will” empowers the people to generate the “resources” to keep the organization live and kicking.
Any game be it finite or infinite has the following two necessary conponents:
1) Resources & 2) Will
By resources we mean the sum of all the financial metrics that contribute to the health of an organization.This is tangible & can mean PAT , stock price etc.
By will we mean sum total of all the human elements that measure the health of an organization.This is intangible and can mean feelings , motivation , commitment etc.
Whereas finite minded leaders focus on resources at the cost of people , infinite minded leaders invest in people for the betterment of resources.
Simon Sinek mentions the same in his book titled “The Infinite Game”
In 2018 , Larry Fink the CEO of BlackRock ,caused a bit of stir with his letter to CEO’s highlighting “Sense Of Purpose”.
This shows the importance of a just cause and sense of purpose in any modern day business to make an organization relevant in the infinite game of business.
Please find below the link for the letter titled “Sense Of Purpose”.I personally found it very illuminating.
https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/01/17/a-sense-of-purpose/
Simon Sinek mentions this in his book titled “The Infinite Game”
The three pillars that outline the responsibility of every business are:
1) Advance a just cause – Just cause should be advanced to make the cause of existence of the business bigger than itself.This can be achieved by giving a sense of belonging.
2) Protect the People – Unless the people feel safe they would not be motivated to give off their best.
3) Generate profit – To advance the business in order to enable it to survive the test of time.
These three pillars have been the foundation based on which iconic companies like Apple , CostCo have built their business in order to be relevant in the infinite game of business.
Simon Sinek mention about this in his book “The Infinite Game”.