Apr 29, 2020
Simon Sinek is
best known for popularizing the concept of ‘WHY’ in his 2009 TED
Talk, making it the most-watched TED talk of all time. Simon talks
leadership, and shares why having a finite perspective in business
puts you on the losing end of an otherwise infinite
game.
Key Takeaways
[3:15] There are two types of
games: Finite games, which have known players, fixed rules, and a
winner and a loser. Infinite games have known and unknown players.
The rules are changeable and there’s no finish line.
[4:15] When we play to win in a
game that has no finish line, there is a decline in trust,
cooperation, and innovation.
[4:35] There are five ways to
adjust your business to the game we’re in.
- Your business has to work to
advance a just cause.
- Build trusting
teams.
- Study worthy
rivals.
- Have a capacity for existential
flexibility.
- The courage to
lead.
[7:00] When we hit the goal,
it’s very exciting, but just like working out; it doesn’t stop. We
have to keep doing it for the rest of our lives.
[8:40] In our society, we tend
to gamify our goals, but it goes against our longer-term
goals.
[10:10] There is a decline of
loyalty in companies. Companies are not loyal to people, and
therefore people aren’t loyal to them.
[12:05] It is the leader’s
responsibility to create an environment where trust can
exist.
[15:00] The difference between
being stressed at work and passionate about work is whether or not
we believe in what we’re doing and that we are part of something
bigger than ourselves.
[16:35] We become obsessed with
our competitors and try to beat them because we are obsessed with
the finite game. The way we define what’s ‘number one’ is
arbitrary.
[22:15] During the pandemic,
we’re forced to change and re-invent ourselves as people and as the
business.
[27:50] The internet put a lot
of companies out of business and that took decades. The pandemic is
doing the same but over days/weeks.
[29:40] Instead of thinking in
one- or two-year terms, or even 10-year terms, think in 1,000-year
terms. This would be at least our fourth pandemic, by
now.
[33:25] The younger generation
has seen first-hand the failings of the way we run businesses now.
This pandemic will affect them the way the war affected our
grandparents.
[36:15] You can’t achieve
success in five steps or in seven steps, yet business magazines are
writing to grab our short attention spans.
[39:15] Remember, in business,
it’s the journey. It is the journey. It’s not the destination —
that’s what motivates us.
[42:30] Let yourself grieve
during these traumatic times. You are experiencing trauma and it’s
okay to ask for help.
Quotable Quotes
- “Working hard for something we don’t care about is
stress. Working for something we love is called
passion.”
- The
language of so many leaders today is about being number one or
being the best, but based on what?
- “There is no such thing as winning in a game
that has no finish line.”
- “We
actually have to adjust the way we think about our businesses to
play for the game we’re actually in.”
- Most
of our goals are arbitrary numbers with arbitrary
dates.
- “The
only true competitor in business is ourselves.”
- “Gone
are the days when someone works to get a gold watch. There’s an
entire generation of employees that have no idea what I’m talking
about.”
- “We
have no choice but to change. We have to throw out the old business
model.”
- People don’t fear change. They fear sudden
change.
Resources and Books Mentioned
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Manifesto reveals the Three Pillars of a Self-Reliant
Leader, which encompass
the character attributes, interpersonal skills, and levers required
to lead today’s workforce. Get your free copy HERE.
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Quick
Reference Guides on
Delegation, Time Management, Sales, and more.
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