The Infinite Game Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

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Brief Summary

Business is an infinite game. There are no rules. The goal is to stay in it as long as you can. By following the five key steps, starting with a strong Just Cause, you can ensure long-term success for your business.

About the Author

Born in Wimbledon, London, Simon Sinek is a motivational speaker, author and organizational consultant. After working for the New York ad agencies Euro RSCG and Ogilvy & Mather, Sinek embarked on his own entrepreneurial endeavors and started his own company, Sinek Partners. In addition to Leaders Eat Last, Sinek also authored Start with Why, among other books. He has given talks for the United Nations and has presented at the TEDx conference.

Topics

Management & Leadership

The Infinite Game Book Summary Preview

Key Insights

When you look at how well a company is doing, you tend to look at stock prices.

That’s because the media is swarming with men in ties telling people when they should buy and when they should sell.

But, that whole buy and sell charade really just concerns the people who are trying to make money. It doesn’t really benefit the company itself.

According to Simon Sinek in his book, “The Infinite Game” the CEO of a company must not get too caught up in stocks. They shouldn’t be focused on the stockholders, they should be focused on the company’s best interests.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”- Simon Sinek

They need to keep their eyes on the prize, create innovative products and ideas, and work to make their company the best it can be, rather than trying to appease the crowd of stockholders.

In his book, Sinek gives great insight into how companies can get back to long-term thinking and how they can stay afloat in a market that is so up and down.

An Infinite Mindset

There is a difference between a finite game and an infinite game.

A finite game is like a game of baseball. When the two teams begin the game, they know the rules and know what they have to do in order to win. They have to score more points than the other team.

But, business is an infinite game. And CEOs must understand that. It’s an infinite game because in business there are no rules. Innovative companies are trying new strategies and tactics every single day.

The goal of the business game is to stay in the game as long as possible. So, really the game could go on forever if your company knows how to play.

“Finite players play to beat the people around them. Infinite players play to be better than themselves.”- Simon Sinek

Profit and revenue are not the only tell-tale signs that a business is “winning.” High profits don’t mean anything if a company cannot beat unexpected obstacles.

This is why CEOs should raise a business to adapt to ever-changing external circumstances. These adaptive businesses are made to last, rather than to just “win” the money-making game.

Tunnel vision can occur when a CEO is focused on short-term goals, such as an increase in profits in the next quarter. But, really what these CEOs should be focusing on is creating innovative new products that will appeal to the masses and last.

They should be putting their creative energy toward the product they are putting out for the consumer, rather than focusing on the money. If they focus on their product, the money will come.

In the early 2000s, Microsoft made the mistake of trying to compete with Apple. They copied what Apple was doing instead of creating new products. Apple still got an innovative reputation and Microsoft slowly began to die.