How do we win a game that has no end? Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable, while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers - only ahead and behind.
The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we're in?
Most leaders are utilizing a finite mindset in the infinite game of business. Doing this means that they lose trust, cooperation, and innovation along the way. In contrast, infinite-minded leaders create much more reliable and competitive organizations. They even shape our future and leave behind resilient organizations and legacies that last generations.
How to lead in The Infinite Game describes how you can create a business that will stand the test of time and challenge modern capitalism.
Finite games are played by known players. They have fixed rules. And there is an agreed-upon objective that, when reached, ends the game. In Finite Games, a player plays to win. Infinite games, in contrast, are represented by known and unknown players. There are no exact or agreed-upon rules. In an Infinite Game, players play to keep playing. The objective is to perpetuate the game.
The problem is that we mostly see all games as finite, whereas some are purely infinite. And this is the case of organisations: most managers think of them as playing to win, by the rules of a finite game. But markets are much more similar to an infinite game.
