Infinite Mindset
“There is no such thing as coming in first in marriage or friendship.” Simon Sinek
Finite vs Infinite Games
Are you and your organization competing in a finite or an infinite game? Finite games have set rules and known players. You know clearly when you win or lose. Infinite games have known and unknown players. However, there are no set rules and no clear wins or losses. The goal is simply to keep playing. Just like marriage, friendship, education, careers we can never be deemed the winner. We can get better but there is no “winning.” In his new book, The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek shares the importance of leaders adopting this infinite mindset when it comes to their organizations. He argues that we can never “win” in business. Business is an infinite game with constantly changing rules and players and no set finish line. As Sinek states, “No matter how successful we are in life, when we die, none of us will be declared the winner of life. And there is certainly no such thing as winning business. All these things are journeys, not events."
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
“Groups that adopt an infinite mindset enjoy vastly higher levels of trust, cooperation and innovation and all the subsequent benefits.” Simon Sinek
My Passion
I have a passion for helping businesses become places where individuals grow, are nurtured, and inspired to do great work with the talents they have been given. I share Simon Sinek’s vision of “building a world in which the vast majority of us wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.” This vision can only happen when leaders step up and embrace this vision. One way to start is with an infinite mindset.
Simon Sinek shares five essential practices of an infinite mindset in his book, The Infinite Game:
5 Essential Practices of an Infinite Mindset
- Advance a Just Cause - a specific vision of a future state
- Build Trusting Teams - identifies cracks in an organization
- Study your Worthy Rivals - helps us improve
- Prepare for Existential Flexibility - appreciation for the unpredictable
- Demonstrate the Courage to Lead - willingness to take risks for good
Your organization and your career is an infinite game. It cannot be won. It is a journey.
What do you need to do to adopt an infinite mindset?
