The Infinite Game

Sinek is an empowering speaker and writer who has a way of captivating his audience like no other. The Infinite Game is another one of his pieces which exemplifies those inherent skills. In the first few chapters he provides a clear concise line of thinking for why he believes in his thesis, and then he goes on to support his idea with relatable and emotionally empowering examples which resonate with the reader. On a fundamental level the premise The Infinite Game is brilliant. Sinek’s entire argument is predicated off of the fact that a leader in whatever discipline or industry needs to be driven by a vision rather than by a set goal, and he displays and even writes about how he himself is pushing his own vision throughout his career, and in part – by writing this book.

While there are many things to like about how Sinek goes about supporting his argument, there are also several things that wear the reader down over the course of the book. His first chapter in explaining Infinite and Finite game theory along with Just Cause is wonderful. Then for most of the book he uses cherry picked case studies and examples which starts to get repetitive. While this is an understandable way of going about supporting one’s thesis, it ends up being quite one-dimensional. Furthermore, he never addresses cases in which leaders were successful but didn’t specifically follow his line of thinking. For an experienced reader and critical thinker this brings up lingering questions about whether his examples show correlation, not causation.

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?

In this revelatory new audiobook, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset. On one hand, none of us can resist the fleeting thrills of a promotion earned or a tournament won, yet these rewards fade quickly. In pursuit of a just cause, we will commit to a vision of a future world so appealing that we will build it week after week, month after month, year after year. Although we do not know the exact form this world will take, working toward it gives our work and our life meaning.

Leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations. Ultimately, they are the ones who lead us into the future.

Simon Sinek once again has a beautifully inspired methodology and presents to us a detailed and convincing story line. You won’t go wrong reading this piece – but beware that the book in its entirety becomes a little repetitive. In either case, understanding the fundamental differences between a Finite Game and an Infinite Game can help anybody formulate a new mindset no matter what leadership positions they currently hold. If you want to learn more about leadership strategies, check out No Rules Rules (Senteo review).