We are working in an interdependent company. As members of network engineering, we depend not only on our teams, but partners organizations. Other teams have their missions and many times a complex project will produce intersections between teams that can lead to conflict or misunderstanding. And way too many escalations!
Planning the Infinite Game has become part of my ethos and how I try to guide my management team and individuals in Network Engineering. I hopefully am leading by example. I hope it’s something you will consider too as you when you feel you may be starting to get frustrated with another team or organization at your company.
Finite vs Infinite Games
Understanding the difference is pretty easy yet the implications are profound.
Finite Games are games where there must be a winner and one or more losers. Sports are the ultimate finite game because one team must win and the other lose. Soccer games within a season can end in a tie, but not when they get to the Champions League, World Cup or other tournaments where there can only be one winner. Politics is another example of there can only be one person who can win the election. Finite games are closed systems where each participant understands the rules. When you step on the field, you run for office, or even play a board game with your family, you accept that someone will win and someone will lose. The ultimate example of a finite game is from Cerci Lannister from Game of Thrones when she offered, “When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.”
Infinite Games are games where the purpose of the game is to continue playing not the defeat your opponent. In an infinite game, you don’t have an opponent, you have participants who are involved in a shared journey or experience. The goal of an infinite game is to keep playing the game as far into the future as possible. You want everyone to continue playing the infinite game because the goal is to keep the game going. You acknowledge the past and you want to learn what went right and what went wrong so you can apply those lessons to adjust to challenges, both internal and external, that may arise in the future.
Finite vs Infinite Games : Three points to remember
I try to approach every day at my job leading our Network Engineering org with an infinite game mentality. Here are three rules to reflect upon that should reinforce why we shouldn’t strive to find winners or losers at work. The goal is to have everyone continue playing because that’s in our collective best interest.
- We don’t get to choose whether the game is finite or infinite. At our company, we are playing an infinite game. It’s impossible for Network Engineering to succeed while other departments fail. We can’t tell Wall Street that “we delivered SDWAN on time and it’s not my fault that our cybersecurity department failed in protecting our internal systems from Iran or North Korea. We have to work with every team and sure that both sides are able to continue working on our missions simultaneously.
- We do get to choose whether or not we want to join the game. To be successful and to avoid frustration, it’s important to understand that we are all playing an infinite game. If I want to play a finite game, I should find a job or work in an industry where for me to win, someone else has to lose. Enterprise sales is a good example of a department where in order for Arista to win a data center transformation, Cisco has to lose. The sales teams do not get to choose the rules of sales. It comes with the game. For our department, we didn’t choose to play an infinite game, but that’s what we are playing. We want every team to be successful at work so we can continue to work together forever.
- We can choose whether we want to play with a finite or an infinite mindset. Saved the hardest one for last. When I have those “low EQ moments”, I regress back to a finite game mentality. Just being honest. From an early age, we’ve played sports and held a finite game mentality. In those moments of stress and frustration, I have found myself awash with feelings of disregard for another team. Those moments usually pass quickly, but I’m human and they do happen sometimes. It’s critical for me, and everyone in our org to push past those lesser angels and refocus on constructing a win-win scenario that ensures that both teams, both individuals, or both organizations will be successful. This is the definition of an infinite game mindset.
We must listen to the other team and hear their pain and think if there is anything we can do to help them stay in the game too. We can’t win if other teams lose because we are in an interdependent system.
For more information on Infinite vs Finite Games:
- The Infinite Game (YouTube), Simon Sinek
- The Infinite Game (Book), Simon Sinek
