Doug Mcmillon has revived Walmart with his infinite mindset after the dismal period from 2009 and 2013 under Mike Duke.
Main reason of revival under Doug Mcmillion is attributed to his infinite mindset and vision of putting people over numbers.
Please read below one such great post(source Fortune.com) that talks about why he is indeed an infinite minded leader.
https://fortune.com/2015/06/04/walmart-ceo-doug-mcmillon/
Simon Sinek makes a mention of Doug Mcmillon in “The Infinite Game”
There are three factors to consider as a leader of a team participating in a game.
1) The leader cannot choose whether the game is finite or infinite
2) The leader has to decide whether to take part in the game or not
3) Once the leader decides to join the fame , he/she has to decide whether to play with a finite mindset or an infinite mindset.
Depending on the mindset the corresponding game would be played.
Simon Sinek mentions this in “The Infinite Game”
Doug Parker the CEO of American Airlines wanted to rejuvenate its employees.
The mid contract raise of flight attendants and pilots was finally approved.
This received a lot of flak from shareholders and Wall Street pundits who were worried that such a strategy would erode the company bottomline.
This is an example of an infinite minded decision keeping employees ahead of numbers.Such decisions are bound to bear fruit in the long term and emanate out of a “courage to lead”.
The following link mentions this infinite mindedness in more details.
(Souce bizjournals)
Simon Sinek makes a mention of Doug Parker in his book titled “The Infinite Game”
CVS Caremark in Feb 2014 , declared that it would stop selling cigarettes in all its stores.This was in line with the broader health care commitment it had embarked on.
For many Wall street pundits this seemed a suicidal move that would cost it revenues to the tune of billions of dollars.
But what transpired was magical.All those who predicted that cigarette sales from CVS would shift to other local stores were taken by surprise.
The move by the infinite minded player CVS had a lasting impact on the population who started reducing cigarette consumption and hence instead of shift in revenue due to sale of cigarettes the cigarette consumption itself drastically reduced.
After a initial setback due to fall in share prices , as a result of this move , the share prices of CVS recovered since this was taken in a very positive manner by the employees and population in general.
In line with its infinite minded vision CVS Caremark changed its named to CVS Health in Sep 2014.This proves beyond doubt that an infinite minded vision is always for the long run and the risk taken proves its worth in the long run.
Simon Sinek mentions about the same in his book titled “The Infinite Game”
Historically if we look at business , numerous examples show how losing sight of a worthy rival , led to complaecency and eventual extinction of a company.
When an organization has rivals , survival is the key even to the extent to thinking of disruption opportunities.The moment a company dominates with apparently no sight of good competitors gradually complaecency sets in.
Look at the following examples of :
1) MP3 players , walkmans when Apple came up with iPod.
2) Kodak going out of market in the digital era
3) Blackberry going out of market with the advent of iPhone
4) Blockbuster underestimating disruption from companies like Netflix.
These examples prove beyond doubt how the presence of a “worthy rival” is so very important for an infinite minded organization who wants to keep playing an infinite game.
Simon Sinek mentions this in “The Infinite Game”.
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Refer the link below to know more about Alan Mulally and how making use of a infinite mindset revived Ford Motors from bankruptcy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Mulally
By making product as a hero in egocentric mission statements , the organization culture suffers.
This when happens shifts the spotlight on the product and enginnering teams at tbe cost of other teams for e.g. Accounts , customer support.
These departments start perceiving themselves as second grade citizens and do not feel inspired to advance something bigger than the product or themselves.
Though sometimes successful in the short term they can never stand the test of time.
Simon Sinek makes a mention of the same in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
To lead an organization with an infinite mindset , in the infinite game of business , a leader needs to adhere to the below mentioned five principles to lead with an infinite mindset.
The five principles to lead with an infinite mindset have been summarized below:
1) Advance a just cause
2) Build trusting teams
3)Study worthy rivals
4)Demonstrate existential flexibility
5)Have the courage to lead
Simon Sinek very aptly makes a mention of this framework in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.
Victorinox is the iconic manufacturer of Swiss Army knives which for a long time served as souveneirs or gift items.
80% of its revenues used to come from the sale of these knives.Post 9/11 there was a ban related to carrying these in the hand luggage.This was a huge setback and the jobs of a lot many employees was at stake.
Victorinox believes in playing infinite games and used it cash reserved to encourage and innovate even further to compensate for the loss of revenue from Swiss knives.
This infinite mindset paid rich dividends and led to the birth of watches and fragrances as new product segments.
This example cited from Simon Sinek’s Infinite Game goes a long way in showing why possessing a long term mindset would surpass all obstacles.