My brother is a big fan of investing and personal growth, I love asking him about the books he is reading and what he is learning. In a recent conversation, he could not stop raving about the book The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. I have not yet read the book but know of the concepts and have been thinking about writing about them for some time.
In a nutshell there are two big ideas.
- Zero Sum Game – play a game to win
- Positive Sum Game (Infinite Game) – play a game to keep playing
A zero-sum game is where the mindset (and environment in which you are playing) is such that if you win, someone else loses and the game is over. Recall back to that last time you had a slice of pie, for me that was Christmas. If I take a piece of apple pie, my family and guests cannot eat that piece. I win and someone has to lose. The assumption of course here is that the pie I am eating is from a standard 9″ pie plate.
Contrast that with the positive sum game or the infinite game. This is where there are no bounds to those who can win, the game is never over. When one person wins there is a temporary celebration, but the game is not over, no one has really won yet. If we extend our pie metaphor, the pie I had at Christmas would extend forever. Now if I take a piece of pie, as large as I want, the rest of my family and guests can take a piece as large as they want. We are all able to enjoy the delicious pie.
Great leaders think in terms of a positive sum game, an infinite game. They ask themselves the question,
What can I do to keep playing this game?
Write down the answer to this question. There are rare situations where a zero-sum approach is the only option. Where do you find the most joy in your decision making? Winning and ending the game or winning and keeping the game going?
