Infinite Games
I am interested in infinite games.
Writer James Carse defines the distinction: “A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”
One of the best compliments I’ve received was when my partner told me that I play an infinite game. Whether that was in regards to our relationship or to life is something I’ll have to ask him, but I do believe he’s right. I tend to invest in my friendships in a way that I hope connotes my deep care for the other person, for our entire live(s)lihoods.
Curiously, this concept was highlighted today as I randomly began listening to Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game. His premise is that those organizations that play an infinite game — advancing some just cause instead of just their bottom line — are more apt to be successful (another rather arbitrary definition). A “just cause” that supports an infinite game is usually something that extends beyond a profitable quarter, year, or company. It is something that will advance our future generations.
That got me thinking. What is my just cause? What is my infinite game?
One professional game comes to mind: Make work, work better. If we spend so much of our lives working, shouldn’t we find joy, meaning, and purpose in what we do? I surely think so, and am dedicating (at least part of) my career to advance that cause.
The other defining feature of an infinite game is that it doesn’t really have an end. What does “better work” mean? How will we know we’ve reached it? Is it when people can show up as their human selves at work? (I think that’s a great start.) But what does that mean? What percentage of people who do that will qualify as a success? Those are ideas I’m thinking through.
However, I know that I’m driven by this quest for inspiring others to do their best work (another nebulous buzzwordy sentence, I recognize). And I know there are others like me who feel the same way and who work hard to make this a grander reality. The beautiful thing is that this cause doesn’t end when I die (how solipsistic/narcissistic would that be?!) or when my counterparts die. Instead, it’s a trans-generational infinite game that we will continue to play. And now, it’s a matter of showing up.
What infinite games do you play?
