HOW DO WE SUCCEED IN A GAME THAT HAS NO END?

Finite games, such as soccer matches or chess games, are played by known players, have fixed rules, and a clear outcome. Winners and losers are easily recognizable.

In infinite games, such as business, politics, or life itself, players come and go, rules change, and there is no clear outcome. In a game without an end, there are no winners and losers. There is no such thing as a “winning business” or a “winning life,” for example. There is only progress or regression.

The more I began to understand the difference between finite and infinite games, the more infinite games I saw around us. I began to see that many of the difficulties faced by organizations exist simply because their leaders are engaging in an infinite game with a finite mindset. These organizations lag in innovation, effort, morale, and ultimately performance.

In contrast, leaders who think and act with an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspired organizations. In Start with Why, I wanted to show the value of starting with a purpose in everything we do. In Leaders Eat Last, I argued that leaders build trust by creating Circles of Safety. In this book, I attempt to offer a framework that will help us find our way in the game we are all playing: the Infinite Game.

Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek works as an assistant at the RAND Corporation, teaches Strategic Communication in the graduate program at Columbia University, and is active in the field of arts and non-profit organizations. When he isn’t traveling, he lives in New York City. His TEDx talk on the WHY is among the top twenty most viewed talks on TED.com, and Sinek now receives invitations from numerous companies to share his idea of WHY.