Is Life a Finite or an Infinite Game?
By: Shreyoshi Chakraborti
Tags: Book Recommendations, Infinite Games, Book Review

James P Carse wrote a highly acclaimed book, named Finite and Infinite Games in 1986, Simon Sinek a British American motivational speaker comes up with a better version of the old book and named it Infinite Game which is a guide on ways to lead in the 21st century. The book was published in 2019, but I found it lying in my Wishlist and finally got time to read through. The book comprises of strategies and examples with clear distinction on ways which makes you are leader, and which doesn’t.

Sinek details the concept of finite and infinite game as was detailed by Dr Carse in his book. To him finite game is when we have a choice of a victory for ourselves, whereas infinite game is when the outcome of the game goes way beyond our chance to play, for example, the victory of Apple with iPhone or the victory of Vietnam in the Vietnam War even when American forces thought they won the battle with all the small victories, is because in the first case, Apple thought beyond the realm of market, and implemented things that are useful and convenient for society well beyond their company’s gain and in the second, Vietnam was fighting for their independence, winning over America was a part of it, while America thought it was only them winning the battle would be the answer. The same is true for all successful long-lasting businesses where fighting against one rival or the company’s gain in one timespan might show the success but the strategies aren’t sustainable.

As Simon says, ‘Finite games are those where the players are known, the rules are fixed and the objective when agreed upon and reached ends the game. Infinite games, in contrast, are played by known and unknown players. There are no exact or agreed-upon rules. They have infinite time horizons. And because there is no finish line, no practical end to the game, there is no such thing as “winning” an infinite game. In an infinite game, the primary objective is to keep playing, to perpetuate the game’. For most successful organization that take up the practice of infinite mindset work on how to make the organization more habitable and promote the well-being of the employees. “It is the people that matters”, he says, “and its them who would make the difference”.

The reason why Apple’s iPod and iPhone were successes was because Apple did not think of overtaking Microsoft, while Microsoft did and hence their product to compete with the iPod wasn’t a success and the same for their phones. Apple caters and reflects on customers needs and users’ convenience, and that’s what is the result of their sustained success for products. On one instance the author spoke about how a newly appointed CEO of Ford spoke of his favorite car as a Lexus not just to criticize Ford but to make the employees and everyone aware of a good comparison of what Ford might aim at. Of course, Toyota has been credited for their reliability over decades.

While I was reading this book about infinite mindset and implementing the attitude in this world, I came across a podcast, which I absolutely loved, by Andrew Petty, on Apple Podcast, titled ‘The Cockpit is Yours’, about why it is necessary to make a shift from the cabin to the cockpit of your life. It’s interesting, that both the story in Infinite Games talks about changes in mindset and how a larger vision and broader perspective not only serves you well but creates a long-lasting shift in the right way. “Culture = Values + Behavior”, where culture is the product, and the values and behaviors are in inputs of the mind might be the best way to remember what we are aiming for here. The infinite mind gives a different culture with varied values than the finite one.