The Infinite Game

We can’t choose the game. We can’t choose the rules. We can only choose how we play.

During finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified.

In infinite games, like business or politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game; there is only ahead and behind.

The more we begin to understand the difference between finite and infinite games, the more we can see that infinite games are all around us. We will realize that many of the struggles that organizations face exist because their leaders are playing an infinite game with a finite mindset. These organizations tend to lag in innovation, effort, morale, and overall performance.

In stark contrast, the leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations. Their people trust each other and their leaders. With an infinite mindset, leaders have the resilience to thrive in an ever-changing world while their competitors fall by the wayside.

Ultimately, they are the ones who lead the rest of us into the future.