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How to play a never-ending game…

Today, whatever the market, the playing field has no limits: new entrants jostle established players, positions change constantly. However, many organizations still think they’re playing a finite game, with fixed rules and an established perimeter. Result: their business is no longer sustainable. According to a 2018 McKinsey study, the average lifespan of an S&P 500 firm was 90 years in 1935 compared to 14 years in 2010¹. And the decline in lifespan is accelerating. To beat the odds, you’ll have to play an infinite game. But fear not: an infinite game, once it is clearly understood, turns out to be stimulating and fulfilling for all parties.

Gather around a just cause  

In a finite game, the goal is limited: win in order to win. In an infinite game, the goal is to play for a “just cause,” a shared ambition that translates into a collective, long-term gain for all stakeholders. An infinite game is:

• A “for” cause (not “against”). It’s easy to mobilize your teams against a rival, but it is more sustainable — yet admittedly more difficult — to focus on an engaging long-term mission.
• An inclusive cause, open to the various stakeholders who wish to join.
• A lasting cause, defined in a sufficiently universal and enduring way, which will weather technological and cultural changes. The music industry should have made “music sharing” their cause instead of focusing on selling records.
• An idealistic cause: unattainable but motivating.

According to Sinek, every company should have a CEO who is an in inspiring CVO (Chief Vision Officer) as guardian of the cause, and not a CFO or COO. Mike Duke, CEO of Walmart between 2009 and 2013, played a finite game focusing on the value created for shareholders. Company prices skyrocketed … before falling. Doug McMillon, his replacement, refocused his vision on customers; Walmart is now doing much better under his leadership.

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