The Infinite Game

Best-selling author Simon Sinek offers a new approach to winning at the “game” of leadership.

[tuhaggis]

How to play an infinite game:
1. You have to have a just cause
2. You have to have courageous leadership
3. You have to have trusting teams
4. You have to have a worthy rival
5. You have to have a flexible playbook

Definitely worth watching the whole video to hear his reasoning behind the points.

[ydmenso]

Ted Koppel: We used to give people the news they needed whether they wanted it or not. Now we give people the news they want whether they need it or not. - Best quote of the speech. Thank you. 14:28

 School shootings: Children Lacking good relationships - Human relationships are missing. 15:35

IOC International Olympic Committee - Just cause/Mission statement - Advance the world, make the world a better place through sport, but for the fact that they're all corrupt. It is a great idea. 16:37

We confuse rank and leadership. Rank has nothing to do with leadership. I know many people who sit at the highest levels of organizations who are not leaders. They have authority and we do as they tell us because they have authority over us, but we would not follow them. And yet I know many people who sit at lower ranks who have no authority and yet they have made a choice. The choice to look after the person to the left of them and the choice to look after the person to the right of them, and we would trust them and follow them anywhere. Leadership is the acceptance of the awesome responsibility to create an environment in which people can work at their natural best. The senior most people in an organization are not responsible for the results. They are just not. Leadership's responsibility is to care of the people who work in the organization and if they feel that someone has their back. They will commit all of their excess energy and time to take care of the customers and each other. If they do not feel that their backs are protected, that someone has their best interest in mind, that the organization it self is trying to them advance as human beings then they will do exactly what the culture provides for them to do. Which is they will protect themselves from you. 17:04

Trusting teams. 18:56 A Trusting team is an environment in which people feel safe to raise their hand and say I made a mistake, I don't feel qualified to do the job that you have asked me to do and I need more training, I need help I am struggling at home and it is effecting my work, I am scared. With out any fear of humiliation or retribution or punishment whatsoever. If you do not have trusting teams inside your organization. What you do have is a group of people who show up to work every single day, lying, hiding, and faking. You are forcing them to, it is not their fault. You are creating an environment which people will not share mistakes for fear that it puts them on some sort of short list or just getting in trouble. They will not admit that they do not feel qualified for the jobs that they have for fear of being outcasts or again put on some sort of short list for getting in trouble. Which means eventually these things will compound and eventually something will break. We have seen the results.

Look at what happened with United Airlines. 20:00 We all saw the film of this poor paying passenger being dragged off the plane with a broken nose, broken teeth, and a concussion. Right? And I feel for that crew. I do not blame the crew, because they work in a culture in which they fear making the right decision. They actually fear that they will get into trouble, They believe they will get in trouble for making the right decision. They actually fear getting in trouble more than doing the right thing. This was not an anomaly.

This has been compounding over years. I had a personal experience on that airline years prior that was a red flag. I was attempting to board a plane and one of the passengers, this played out in front of me. One of the passengers attempted to board the plane before their group number was called. Which is all of you know here is a felony. And that is exactly how the gate agent treated him. "Step aside sir!" "I haven't called your group yet!" "Please step aside and wait till I call your group!" is how she talked to a paying customer. So I spoke up, I said, "Why do you have to talk to us that way? Why can't you talk to us like we are human beings?" And she looked me in the eye and said "Sir, if I don't follow the rules, I could get in trouble, or lose my job." What she revealed to me is that she does not feel safe in her own organization and her leaders do not trust her to use her own judgement and do not trust her to do the job for which she been trained to do. And guess who suffers? Customer and Company.

21:33 The reason we love flying South West Airlines is because not because they have some magical formula to hire the best people. It's because the people there feel safe in their own organization, they are entrusted to use their own judgement and do the jobs for which they have been trained to do. If you have an excess of bureaucracy in your organization and I have worked in the university system. and I feel for the people who abused me when I go get my ID. Because they fear getting in trouble more than using judgement. That is a cultural problem. I do not blame the person. Human beings are social animals and we respond to the environments we are in and ultimately it is the leadership that is responsible for setting the environment. Get the environment right you get trusting teams. Get the environment wrong you are forcing people to protect themselves from you.

22:25 If you work in an organization where it is standard practice for people to feel the need to send a CYA email after every decision they make. Cover Your Ass. That is a sign that they they feel that they have to take time and energy out of their day away from doing their jobs in order to protect themselves from you. If you work in an organization where it is standard practice for people to feel the need that they have to keep a folder of all the good things they have ever done. Just in case they need it. It is a sign that they feel that they have to take time and energy away from advancing the just cause in order to protect themselves from the organization. That's what you get. If they feel safe all of their energy goes to advancing the just cause, always.

[goinfiniteworldwide]

I will probably listen to this at least 10 more times this week. There are so many gems here, I don’t believe it’s possible for one to absorb all of the knowledge in a single casual listen. Who else is taking notes and listening to this on repeat?

[jessart]

1. Have a Just Cause
a. Why does my organization exist?
b. People would be willing to sacrifice to see the advancement of that cause.
c. It is a vision of the future that does not yet exist and you will commit all of your energies to advance that vision of the world that you have.
2. Have courageous leadership
a. Sacrifice the short term in order to advance the long term.
b. Be willing to say no to the money that's coming from a dirty source and rather say yes to the greater/higher vision.
3. Have a trusting teams
a. An environment in which people feel safe to raise their hand and say I made a mistake…(19:05)
b. Feeling same in our own organization, so the energies of the teams is in advancing the Just Cause.
4. Have a worthy rival
a. Your competition helps reveal to you your weaknesses.
b. If they are better at something, it means you have to work harder yourself.
c. Building strong foundations; looking long term.
5. Have a flexible playbook

Amazing talk, I wish he had time to elaborate on the last point...

[faheemabid]

8:45 leaving this here so everytime it is liked I cam back to watch this

[sherenemcfarlane]

Love this man.
His speeches, works in all aspects of your life.
Businesses and personal relationships.

[Veins]

me at first: I'll just watch 5 minutes of this

me at the middle: how can he talk so passionately for so long and without fillers?
me at the end: 25 minutes have passed and it's over so soon?

[ninjaong]

Watching this after US's exit from Afghanistan is just profound.

[markwearne]

In business, business owners see business as a finite game. There is a goal within a defined period of time. Whereas customers play the infinite game, they are collectively always bombarding the business with demands, problems, requests of which relatively few are effectively answered. Business needs to understand the individual customer to win each and every one, not just once, but at each and every interaction therefore the challenge is never ending and therefore the game is infinite. Business needs to play the infinite game to at least stay in the game and at best to learn and grow. Its about the experience and journey not about achieving the goal.

[daphnesgrowthplanet]

Simon's best talk yet! He is the product of his own teachings, and this is why I especially admire him: walking his talk, every step of the way!
This was put so simply, that it applies to every segment of our life. I work in a completely different industry, but still it applies to my life to the last bit!
goes another sleepless night, this talk just put my brain on over-drive :) (and it's 2 a.m. here) Thank you, Simon Sinek!

[agentlix]

The best talk and leadership theme gave by Simon so far. I am waiting in anticipation of the book!

[Esch_atton]

This perspective is so helpful. Gonna really re-evaluate how I act when being treated poorly by people under the boot of authoritarian work culture.

[magicpentameter]

The 5 aspects of an infinite game:


1. A Just Cause: in what way are you showing people how awesome the world is?
2. Courageous Leadership: Be willing to take your medicine when you need it
3. Trusting Teams: There must be room for people's imperfections
4. A Worthy Rival: Finite games do still exist, so there is something to be said for competition. However, all finite games are contained within (at least one?) infinite game. Hence, although it is good to want to win against a rival in the context of those finite games because that is how we learn and improve, the overarching infinite game is to continue playing -- and to play a game, by definition, you must have other players or else it gets real boring real quick.
5. Flexible Playlist: have you ever played a fighting game against somebody who spams the same moves over and over? It works pretty well, until you figure out a way around what they're doing and suddenly they don't have any other tools to use against you. Do not be that guy, it is sad and boring and dumb.

[MrPfine]

The simplicity and consistency of Simon's messages, backed by support of human biology, is what makes his message so powerful. And, I must say I agree with the hollowness of chasing the might dollar. We all need to work to bring his message to those with whom we have mutual trust.

[shabbirchowdhury]

I just love your idealism Simon because there is a level of sincerity in your words which I can feel & which is a very rare commodity these days.

[holdupwaitaminute.]

I hate history back in school, but how he explains it makes me want more.

[Oreste]

May be the best talk he has given so far, it's remarkable

[DanielRusco]

Many of the ideas in this talk are found in the book “Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility” by James Carse. What do you do with the books you read? Readers are leaders.

[S__Kay]

Oh, that passion! I could listen for hours 🙂

[arlinegeorge]

I believe that we have great people as Simon who passionately working for a just cause. My prayers and blessings for him and all his loved ones. I also pray for many likes him be multiplied in our world today as is the need of the hour . Thank you and love and peace to all !