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Tag: The infinite game

  • “Will” or “Resources” which to prioritize?

    “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

  • “Will” vs “Resources” striking the right balance

    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.

  • Larry Fink & Sense of Purpose

    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”

  • Responsibility of every business

    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”.

  • How Milton Freidman’s “shareholder primacy” led to a finite mindset

    In the 1970’s the Noble winning economist named Milton Freidman put forward his views around “shareholder supremacy” and changed the meaning of capitalism inside out.

    According to him a business and its owners should operate with the sole aim of making profit to maximise the value of its shareholders.The views expressed by the economist has taken centre stage in the world of business from the 1980’s.

    To promote shareholder value , business leaders worldwide developed a short sighted finite mindset radically different from the infinite mindset of business owners prior to 1980’s.In this age businesses operated to maximise value of employees resulting in a win-win for the organization.

    These views have been put forward by Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” to make the audience aware of the need of possessing an infinite mindset in the infinite game of business.

  • The contrasting approaches of COSTCO and GE CEO’s

    The share prices and growth patterns of COSTCO and GE are really noteworthy.

    Jack Welch and his 6 sigma philosophy focused on optimization & short term gains always putting people priorities behind shareholder interests and profits.

    At the same time James Senegal of COSTCO always put his people first , knowing fully well that satisfied employees would be able to take care of customers and hence the shareholders.

    The result is right in front of our eyes. The shareholder returns , margins of COSTCO are something to be really proud of as against the finite mindset of GE top bosses.

    Simon Sinek has wonderfully illustrated this point in many of his videos on “The Infinite Game”

  • The role of a CVO in an infinite game

    For playing the infinite game of business with an infinite mindset the modern day CEO needs to be a visionary putting people’s priorities first over bottom line ,stock markets etc.

    A finite mindset wherein bottom line , profit margins become the first priority over people issues , though successful in the short term can lead to severe detrimental effects in the long term.

    This is why the need of the hour is no longer a CEO but a CVO(Chief Vision Officer) who would put people priorities first , make the life of employees meaningful and inspiring in advancing the “just cause” of the organization.

    Simon Sinek makes a mention of the same in his book titled “The Infinite Game”

  • Why a CFO or a COO may not fit as the CEO?

    Look at Apple and how selection of John Sculley at the helm nearly killed Apple.Sculley it is said was obsessed competing with IBM.

    When Michael Dell stepped down and Kevin Rollins took over , same story which is why the same way Apple brought back Steve Jobs , Dell had to bring back Michael Dell.

    Something similar happened to Microsoft when Steve Ballmer took charge.

    All these individuals Steve Ballmer , Kevin Rollins , John Sculley inspite of being super talented miserably failed as CEO’s.

    This is because as CFO or COO a person can succeed inspite of not putting people’s priorities first.

    Whereas in the infinite game without putting people priorities first a CEO can succeed in the long term but never in the long term.Once the focus shits first to bottomline and numbers the company culture and internal trust takes a huge beating.

    Simon Sinek brings out this point in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.

  • “Best” vs “Better” mindset

    Any mission statement focusing on being the “best” is not going to survive in the long term.This is because winning is always for the short term.

    On the other hand , a mindset focused on getting “better” is infinite minded and an stand the test of time.This is because such a mindset does not focus on winning or losing but continuing to play the infinite game.

    Simon Sinek makes a mention of this in “The Infinite Game”.

  • Avoid Product centric mission statements

    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”.