IDL34 Season 1: Introducing the Infinite Game
Today I get to introduce the next book in our book club, The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. It’s been quite a few years since I have read this book and as I prepared for this episode, it really shows up to me how much our culture has embraced a lot of the things that Simon has spoken about.
This book will get you thinking about why you as a leader exist? What is your mission and what are you trying to accomplish? I am so excited to introduce this book and can’t wait for you to read it!
In this episode we discuss:
What are you trying to accomplish?
Interchange your finite and infinite
“Who are you competing with?”
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH
“He describes it in his book as “the just cause”. This is beyond the widgets of what you do, it’s why do you do it? What’s it about? ”
As a leader, what is it that you are pushing towards and wanting to achieve? What is the thing that drives you?
In The Infinite Game, Sinek discusses the:
1 – Finite game, which has
A distinctive start and end,
Has a set of rules that all the players abide by,
A distinctive winner and loser.
2 – Infinite Game, which
Does not have a beginning or an end,
Has no rules,
Has no winners or losers.
“It’s like “what are you doing and why?” To truly have a legacy, something that’s going to live beyond you, it has to be something that [doesn’t] have a finish line”
INTERCHANGE YOUR FINITE AND INFINITE
In your journey to accomplish your legacy have your infinite game be supported and buttressed by finite goals.
Finite goals help you to establish progress and measure your successes and lessons. You can use them to make sure that your infinite goal is on track and moving in the right direction.
“This idea of growing, and performing, and developing, and having this infinite type mindset is “what am I doing today to be better than I was yesterday with a plan and intention to grow so that I’m better tomorrow?” ”
The leaders are the captains and the on-lookers: they see the future in the distance and steer the vessel towards the best outcomes of success and development.
WHO ARE YOU COMPETING WITH?
Who or what is your worthy rival? How does your rival push you to become the best version of yourself?
Knowing who you are competing with; whether that is a competing company, a problem in the world you want to solve, or who you were yesterday, find value in your competition. Because healthy competition inspires you to surpass your limits and stretch yourself into new areas of growth and success.
As a leader, you can be a worthy rival and inspiration for your followers and employees. It does not mean that you push them down: being a worthy rival means challenging someone to rise to meet you.
Resources, books, and links mentioned in this episode:
BOOK | Simon Sinek - The Infinite Game
BOOK | Simon Sinek - Leaders Eat Last
BOOK | Simon Sinek - Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
BOOK | Adam Grant - Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
The Impact Driven Leader YouTube Channel
Join The Impact Driven Leader Book Club
Join the Impact Driven Leader Community
Connect with Tyler on Instagram and LinkedIn
Emai Tyler: tyler@tylerdickerhoof.com
About the Impact Driven Leader Podcast
The Impact Driven Leader Podcast, hosted by Tyler Dickerhoof, is for Xillennial leaders who have felt alone and ill-equipped to lead in today's world. Through inspiring interviews with authors from around the world, Tyler uncovers how unique leadership strengths can empower others to achieve so much more, with real impact.
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I truly believe that we are made better by those that challenge us.
Tyler Dickerhoof
Podcast Transcription
[TYLER DICKERHOOF]
As you know, as you've heard, part of this podcast is also doing the Impact Driven Leader round table. I want you to listen to this quick message, this is an invitation. I want you to come sit at our table. You're going to learn, you're going to grow and you can't help, but have a great time with us. And I invite you. You're listening. There's a seat for you with your name on it. Come join us.
[MOLLY SLOAN]
Hey, this is Molly Sloan. The Impact Driven Leader book club and round table have been transformational for me. I've been involved for the past six months and it's taken me on a journey to be a better leader and a better person at work, at home, and really in every interaction with people. Tyler's done a great job of guiding us through the books. They're current, thought-provoking and they apply to all of us. The weekly round table has become an accountability team. I've done lots of leadership trainings in the past where you feel on top of the world, the week after the event, but ultimately it wears off over time. This group is better. We're on a leadership journey with each other through frequent, ongoing discussions and continual growth. I strongly recommend this group to anyone aiming to continually develop as a leader.
Welcome to the Impact Driven Leader podcast. This is your host, Tyler Dickerhoof. So glad you're joining us today. Excited to be with you in a unique episode, if you've listened to many of the episodes of the Impact Driven Leader podcast, I usually am here with a guest. Today, as it's happened in the past, you get just me. I get to introduce the next book in our Impact Driven Leader Book Club, the book that we're going to go over in the round table. And I want to take a moment real quick. If you're unfamiliar with those, those are two of the communities that I've developed as part of this podcast to really take the lessons of each of the guests, but also these books that we have that we focus on, one per month and throughout the year to really expand our learning.
And that happens within the book club. It goes even deeper in the round table. So want to make sure you're invited to that. You can sign up at theimpactdrivenleader.com. As well, each week I send out an email, kind of going through my thoughts about each episode. I'd love for you to have that. Go to tylerdickerhoof.com. You can subscribe to my newsletter, and I would gladly share that with you. One last thing, before we move in to talk about this month's book, the book of for the month of September, I would love for you to give me a review, a rating, and let me know how I'm doing. Let me know so I can share with others. That way they see this podcast. If you're getting value out of it, I would hope others are too. So thank you for listening in. Give me a review and rating. Hopefully I earned something that you can give me with honesty and genuineness. So thank you for that. And subscribe, make sure that you catch every episode.
I predominantly released episodes on Friday and I'm excited for this episode, this releases on September 3rd. I believe the first Friday of September each month, the first Friday of every month, give or take ivory, I will talk about either the book or the book club, through an interview with the author, or in cases like this, I'm going to go through the book.
This one is The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. It is his third book in really his major books. He's written other books. I guess there was a smaller one that wasn't quite as as robust. So he's the author of Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last and then this book, The Infinite Game. But honestly, when I read this book years ago I was mesmerized, one because I really loved Simon's work but this was his best book, partly because, and I think it's fun going back. It's been a few years since I've read the book and as I prepare for it, one for this podcast, but two to guide the people that are part of the book club and round table through this reading of this book, it really kind of shows up to me how much of our culture has embraced a lot of things that Simon has talked about.
We are through new a year's worth of time in the global pandemic of Corona virus, COVID-19 and that's brought on a lot of changes, corporately. That's a lot of changes for many leaders to understand and say, "Hey, how do we lead? What does it look like? Is it full-time back into the office like nothing ever changes? Are we hybrid model?" Maybe you had a business that it was completely remote so you're not looking at any changes here. Well, one of the things that I really gather from Simon Sinek, that can be a great point for every leader, maybe going through that right now is why do you exist? What is your mission? What are you trying to accomplish? He describes it in his book "the just cause." This is beyond the widgets of what you do. It's why do you do it and what's it about? Well, part of The Infinite Game, and let me give you this and quite a little bit of description, there's two games, there's The Infinite Game and the finite game.
Real simply, I'm not going to bore you with great detail like Simon if he was a guest. He would be much more okay, defined, but this idea that a finite game has a starting in it. An infinite game does not. A finite game has a certain set of rules that all the players abide to. The Infinite Game doesn't. The finite game, there's a distinct winner and loser. An infinite game there isn't. There's no defined winner or loser. And as I stop and think about that, our life is an infinite game. We don't know when, we have no idea, we can't look up on the horizon and see a clock ticking down or counting up even. It is what it is. So this idea for a person, a business, an entity, it's like, what are you doing and why? And just truly have a legacy, something that you're going to live beyond you.
It has to be something that there is no finish line. I stopped and thought about this and where does my purpose, my recently found purpose over the last couple of months that really puts to heart, what I love to do, why I am leading this podcast, why I have the book club that I do, why my wife and I lead the network marketing team that we do is my great desire is to help other leaders get healthy too. Now, is I understand for myself and for others, as I look around is that's an infinite game. There will be no day in my mind where every single leader in this world is healthy, because the reality is, it's just like mindset. You got to get up and you got to do it every single day so you can be healthy today and a challenge comes tomorrow, and that's going to challenge your health.
It's something you've got to work at every single day of your life. I believe that part of this cause, and this purpose is to help people through that process, to give them platforms, to give them tools, to give the community to transform and grow. But I don't expect this day where I go through the list and check it, everyone's healthy. I don't believe in that. And I think to me, that makes my just cause follow along the lines of really kind of being this infinite. Now, are there finite components to it? Well, sure. And I think that is part of the business lessons. You can have finite components and sometimes goals that you measure yourself by. Am I growing? Am I developing? Am I learning?
But it also can't be the be-all-end-all. Years ago I learned the lesson from one of my mentors and it really, I had a hard time with whether there was goals or, I'm not one that loves to set like hard, fast goals. I really don't. I'm more, I love the routine. I grew up on a dairy farm. There is no finish line. If you've ever been around animals and especially dairy cows, there is no finish line unlike some other animals where maybe you get to take a rest or there's less work. There's no finish line. Again, I'm partial to it. I grew up every day, you milked cows twice a day. There was never a day until they were gone, that you didn't do that.
So that's just built into me. That's something that I understand. So this idea of growing and performing and developing, having this infinite type mindset is what am I doing today to be better than I was yesterday, with the plan and intention to grow so I'm better tomorrow. That is my goal every day. And if I can get up in the morning and if I could read and I can learn and I can apply myself, if I can help others, then that's a worthwhile day. And tomorrow I can come and I know I can do that better. I can help someone differently. I can learn something new or different. That is part of that process. Now, where that kind of ties into The Infinite Game from a leadership perspective is how am I helping others see that? How am I helping others see the opportunity that they have that is bigger than maybe their position, that's bigger than those around them and it's identified in this book, The Infinite Game that really at some point a leader's greatest chore, responsibility and job is not to the day to day, the little activities.
It's where are we going to be tomorrow? How am I looking out for what's ahead of us? So that way I'm thinking about what's ahead of us? Leaders see before and more than others and if I'm looking around corners, well, that's part of a job as a leader. And that really starts to, in my opinion, develop trust with people that you lead, but it starts to also really layer in the fact that man, we're just going to be at this. There's always going to be a day that we can be at this work and we have to be flexible through that. We have to hold on to our values and our ethics, stuff that Simon describes in great detail again, in this book.
And I know what really comes back to this idea of why are we in the game that we're in and if we're in the game of life to play, then that to me is a worthy game to be involved in. Simon in the book, The Infinite Game describes one component that I want to spend a little time on. I actually thought about this. My wife and I were recently driving home from spending a couple of days at a very amazing, beautiful, there's this very in town in Washington called Leavenworth. They have this amazing hotel there and spent some time there with some friends and one of the things I really kind of question I thought of, as I was driving home is thinking about people and how they carry themselves in a competition. Are they competing with others around them? Are they working tireless hours? Are they engaging in activities in order that they can really develop and grow and be bigger than what they are now?
Who are they competing with? That's a question that I've had to at times really evaluate and understand this. Who am I competing with? Am I competing with myself? Am I my competing with my wife? We've had those challenges. Am I competing with people that are around me in the same profession? Simon in his book has a chapter called the worthy rival. I truly believe that we are made better by those that challenge us Proverbs 27:17 iron sharpens iron. I mean, my belief is we're only challenged to the point that we can be become when we have someone else that maybe is a worthy rival.
Simon Sinek, I heard in one of his podcasts, he was with Adam Grant, he describes that Adam, who had a storied career. Adam's book that we had earlier this year as a part of the book club called Think Again, and they identified each other's worthy rivals because one is growing and challenging himself, and so to does the other. And it's funny, it's not a competitor. It's not saying I just want to be better than you. Sometimes in the insecurity of our nature, it can look that way or could feel that way, but that's not really what a worthy rival is. A worthy rival to me is someone that holds a standard that you're like, yes, I will hold to that standard too, because I agree with it. I believe in it. I think leaders that's one of our greatest opportunities, to be a worthy rival for others, not a competitor that's willing to do anything to just get ahead.
But it's just say, I'm going to carry myself at such a level, with such integrity and such value and conviction of those values. That I'm only holding myself at a high standard, but I'm challenging others to rise to that simply because if I can be their worthy rival. I think that's one of our great opportunities in business and leadership. It's one, how do we help others accomplish more or to my purpose is how do I get healthy and help others be healthy too, and maintain those practices and those conversations for transformation? But through that, how am I showing in our community? How am I showing with those interacting, how I carry myself, that they may say, "Man, Tyler's a worthy rival."
I mean, I'd love for you as you're listening in to think about one who are your rivals? I hope they're worthy rivals. I'll throw a little shade at some, it's almost college football season. Technically when this episode releases, we will be through the first week of college football. I am a college football fan and some of the great rivalries in college football Stanford, Cal, you have Alabama, Auburn, you have Notre Dame and USC, you have Ohio State, Michigan, and one of the things that I believe is you got to have some back and forth there. You have to have something on the line for it to be a rivalry. Now, there's some teams right now that maybe haven't held up their end of the bargain.
So sometimes they have to get ahead in order that it's a worthy rivalry because if not, it's just your little brother. I love my little brother, but at the same point, when you think about those childhood aspects, as I think of my two sons and it's kind of sometimes that younger generation, you're like, "Oh, okay, that's good for them." I want my brother to succeed and accomplish whatever he can. But I think you get the point that I'm getting it. There's no way to get above that time difference. As we talk about this worthy rival, it's discussing who is it that holds you to a standard that challenges you? Because really it's getting out of challenging the status quo. That's what this book is about. It's getting out of that status quo to do better for those around us.
I mean, that's what my challenge is for you today, how can you be better? I wanted better and that's what led me on this journey. It doesn't necessarily make sense at times, but that's what our challenges is. How do we continue to work at that? Are you trying to win or are you simply along the journey and the path? And know that sometimes it's going to be a windy trail, but if you continue to put one front in front of the other, you continue to play the game. Man that's what is worthy. That is playing the infinite. That to me will live on in legacy.
I'm excited for you too. If you've never read the book, go read the book, The Infinite Game. I'm excited for you. I'll release in the show notes a couple podcasts from Simon talking about this book so you don't have to go hunt and search and find those. Thank you for listening in today. Little shorter episode. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed the conversation.
I would love for you to join the Impact Driven Leader Book Club. We're going to finish off the year with a couple of great books. Looking forward to 2022 and what this will involve in detail in there. That'll be coming in the next couple of months. As well there's still opportunity for you to jump into the round table where we do a Zoom each week where we discuss this, we discuss leadership challenges, whatever you're going through. Some of them happen to do with the book, others don't, but I love those times because not only for me is it a great time to learn collectively as the group, but it's also taking the lessons that we've learned throughout the year and applying them and understanding when and how to apply them. I'd love for you to be a part of that process.
If you got value out of this today or any of the other episodes, man, I'd love If you could share. Hit that subscribe button, give me a rating, I would love to hear your, please, wherever you listen. I'll greatly appreciate it. This has been a fun journey for me over the last 9, 10 months. Now I look forward to continuing on because it challenges me to get better and grow. So thank you for listening in. Until next week, oh, I have an exciting episode. One of my just truly dear friends that I've gotten to know through this podcast journey, can't wait for you to hear that. So make sure you subscribe so you can get alerted for that one next week. Again, lastly, if you want to join the book club, theimpactdrivenleader.com, you can go there and check out how to join the book club. Thanks for being here. I'll catch you next time.
