Summary of The Infinite Game – A Comprehensive Summary
Each one of us has occasionally had a hard time with “thinking out of the box” and seeing a problem from a different perspective. Simon Sinek teaches us that this is probably due to our distorted perception of the “games” we play. In his vocabulary, everything an individual does can be considered as a game- there are rules, laws, and players. Now, since early childhood, we are used to playing what Sinek calls finite games. This is the standard meaning of the word “game”- finite games have clearly defined beginning, middle, and an end.
Moreover, the criteria for determining who the winner is are also fixed and unchangeable. Any kind of sport is a good example of finite games- it’s rather clear who the players are (they wear jerseys), the game has a fixed length, and the winning team is the one that gets the most points, goals, etc.
In The Infinite Game, Sinek teaches us that these kinds of games are only one side of the story. Because we got used to them since we were kids, there is a general tendency to generalize our early experience onto new things that we encounter in life. This type of thinking leads to one dangerous mistake- playing infinite games as if they were finite. For instance, people often think that education is something that’s earned, or attained, and when you reach a certain point, you become an educated person. But, education is much more complex than a game of football. How?
First and foremost, rules and laws are much more general and leave a lot of space for improvisation, innovation, and creativity. Moreover, it’s impossible to find one set of criteria according to which we will consider someone educated or non-educated. Sure, there are awards, accolades, diplomas, and degrees, but this is just one side of the story. And finally, education is not about competition. It would sound silly if someone said: “I won in the game of education. I am now the most educated person ever.” It simply doesn’t work this way.
Infinite games aren’t about competition. They are about the organization, cooperation, and collective benefits. While people who think that education is a finite game compete with their peers and try to outdo them, individuals who understand that education is an infinite game with countless players who all possess some kind of knowledge that makes our life better, emphasize the need for cooperation. Mistaking an infinite game for a finite one leads to all sorts of problems, and unnecessary rivalries and competition are just some of the most conspicuous ones.
It may seem as if everything that Sinek talks about makes sense, but that, in the end, it doesn’t work in real life. The author of The Infinite Games apprehends this kind of thinking and refutes it by applying his perspective to the Vietnam War. In his opinion, the USA lost the war because it mistook an infinite game for a finite game. Americans thought that the outcome of a war is determined by the number of victories, and other (more gruesome) war statistics (like, for instance, the number of casualties). But they were wrong. Vietnamese played the game called “independence, ‘ a game they played during the past centuries (and even millennia).
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