To Infinity & Beyond In The Workplace

What if purpose focused on legacy rather than personal destination?

What if roles were based on future sustainability rather than immediate results?

What if gradual progress was idolised in the same way as quick or easy wins?

What if instant gratification was replaced with an unwavering belief that deferred gratification will taste so much sweeter?

So often is the case that we strive to win, to beat our competitors, to be the best at something but, where does it really get us??How much time is wasted comparing ourselves to others??What does the win actually mean??Getting to the top and fearing an almighty fall??Mentally stacking our own triumphs against the perceived triumphs of others? Whether it’s in business or in life we live in a world with a perpetual cycle of comparison and fear of falling short.

But what if there was another way? A way that could transform the way we operate within business. Where high trust, cooperation and innovation are the norm? ??I’m talking about a concept called an Infinite Mindset.

An infinite mindset isn’t concerned about winning or losing, its concerned with continuation, it’s having your heart set on where you are going and accepting that sometimes you are going to be ahead and sometimes you are going to be behind.

James P. Carson describes it like a game.?There are finite games (games played to be won) and there are infinite games (ensuring continuation of play).?

In finite games there is always a winner and a loser and once the game has been won the game is over.?A new game must begin in order to “Win” again. During the game there are usually rigid rules and boundaries.?

In business it could look like a business striving to be the number one business.?Can anyone truly be number one? Another example would be the inability to pivot a business to new ways of working/consumer demands… anyone remember Blockbusters? What you might not know is that they had the opportunity to buy Netflix and declined through fear of losing their annual 13% profits in late return fees.?

A business operating from a finite mindset will manifest behaviours such as hiding mistakes, rewarding high performing toxic employees, creating cutthroat environments, accepting dishonest & unethical business practices. Annual cuts of staff, budgets, and everything else in between just to meet a plan written up at the beginning of the year.?

On the other hand the aim of an infinite game is to ensure a continuation of play.?The rules and boundaries may change, the players might change but the game continues to go on.?

This could look like a leadership team making decisions that will ensure the success of their business long after they have gone rather than fulfilling short term personal goals.?A beautiful example of a business operating from an infinite mindset is the company Victorinox (the maker of swiss army knives) After 9/11 their sales took a huge hit, instead of huge cutbacks and layoffs they invested in product develop. The result is that prior to 9/11 Swiss army knives accounted for 95% of their sales, today they account for 35% and their new products have helped them nearly double their revenue since before September 11. As Simon Sinek puts it “Victorinox is not a stable company, it is a resilient one”.

So how could we start to develop an infinite mindset???Well Simon Sinek suggests 5 essential practices that must be followed in his book The Infinite Game but for now I will leave you with 3 thoughts to consider:

Legacy

What legacy are you trying to create? Think about what will be left when you are gone. How do you create a positive impact on the people around you every day??

Helpful Comparison

Think about how you view your competitors, are they the enemy??What if you viewed them as allies??What could you learn from them; where could the possibilities take you??

Courageous Leadership

It’s easy to chase the targets and fees but what about considering the wider impact on staff??Finding the courage to accept the good with the bad and be open to changing our minds when necessary for the greater good. ??

“If we believe trust, cooperation and innovation matter to the long-term prospects of our organisations then we have only one choice – to learn how to play with an infinite mindset” – Simon Sinek