Finite and Infinite Games | Simon Sinek

31 Oct 2022 · 0 min

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This excerpt summarizes Dr. James Carson's mid-1980s distinction between finite and infinite games. Finite games have known players, fixed rules, and an agreed-upon objective (e.g., sports with a clear beginning, middle, and end). Infinite games include known and unknown players, changeable rules, and an objective to perpetuate play; the speaker applies this framework to assert that business is an infinite game.

Questions this video answers

Doctor James Carson, in the mid-1980s.

Known players; fixed rules; an agreed-upon objective (a clear beginning, middle, and end).

Known and unknown players (new players may join); changeable rules; objective is to perpetuate the game (stay in the game as long as possible).

Business is characterized as an infinite game.

Doctor James Carson, the mid-1980s, defined these two types of games, finite games and infinite games.
A finite game is known players, fixed rules, and an agreed upon objective. Football, baseball, there's always a beginning, middle and an end. And if there's a winner, necessarily, they have to be losers. Then you have infinite games. Infinite games are defined as known and unknown players, which means new players can join anytime. And you don't necessarily know who all the other players are. You definitely don't know every brewery in the world. You know the rules are changeable, which means every player can play however they want, and the objective is to perpetuate the game, to stay in the game as long as possible.
Turns out business is an infinite game.