WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.440 Today, I want to start off with a simple question and the question is, what game are you playing? 2 00:00:08.440 --> 00:00:12.980 You see, we're playing one of two types of games and we learn this from mathematical 3 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:13.980 game theory. 4 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:18.600 There's called the infinite game versus the finite game. 5 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:25.840 You know, most of us think that we're in business to win, beat the competition, hit our targets, 6 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:27.800 you know, hit the finish line. 7 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:31.920 But what if I told you that that kind of thinking is what's actually holding your business 8 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:32.920 back? 9 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:35.080 This is counter-intuitive, I know. 10 00:00:35.080 --> 00:00:41.660 So today, I'm going to share with you three stories to help us understand how this mathematical 11 00:00:41.660 --> 00:00:46.120 game theory can completely change how we think about our business. 12 00:00:46.120 --> 00:00:51.680 And at the end of this, I hope you'll understand why the most successful businesses are the 13 00:00:51.680 --> 00:00:53.200 ones that endure. 14 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:56.160 And they endure because they don't play to win. 15 00:00:56.160 --> 00:00:58.140 They play to keep on playing. 16 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.440 They play to endure. 17 00:01:00.440 --> 00:01:05.800 So story number one is, we're going to call it the bakery price war. 18 00:01:05.800 --> 00:01:09.280 This is winning versus enduring. 19 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.920 So in this story, there are two bakeries on Main Street. 20 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:18.720 One called Sugar Rice saw a new competitor open down the road and we all know how that 21 00:01:18.720 --> 00:01:22.400 feels when a new competitor steps into our space. 22 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:23.400 They panicked. 23 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.500 They started slashing prices to keep their customers. 24 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:29.760 We can't let them win, the owner kept saying to the staff. 25 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.080 So for months, they were on this price war. 26 00:01:33.080 --> 00:01:38.600 Coupons, deals, undercutting, the team worked longer hours, profits shrank, and of course 27 00:01:38.600 --> 00:01:41.000 morale tanked. 28 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:47.000 And they were really on a rapid fight towards the bottom, constantly slashing prices back 29 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:48.000 and forth. 30 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:49.960 Race to the bottom, as it's called. 31 00:01:49.960 --> 00:01:52.840 Eventually Sugar Rice closed. 32 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:57.800 Meanwhile, across town, there was Harvest Loaf. 33 00:01:57.800 --> 00:02:02.140 They also noticed two new bakeries open near them. 34 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:07.960 But instead of fighting them to win, they rather met with their team and their leader 35 00:02:07.960 --> 00:02:11.080 asked them this great question. 36 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:15.360 How do we make what we do irreplaceable? 37 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:16.620 That's such a great question. 38 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:20.220 How do we make what we do irreplaceable? 39 00:02:20.220 --> 00:02:21.940 And here's what they came up with. 40 00:02:21.940 --> 00:02:25.340 They upgraded ingredients and they told their customers. 41 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:30.380 They started hosting community bread making nights and they also partnered with a local 42 00:02:30.380 --> 00:02:31.380 coffee shop. 43 00:02:31.380 --> 00:02:36.860 Their business grew even as even more competitors entered their space. 44 00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:38.740 So here's the lesson. 45 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:43.740 Sugar Rice was playing the finite game where there's a winner and a loser. 46 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:44.740 Just like in tennis. 47 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:48.820 It has set rules, there's a winner at the end and a loser. 48 00:02:48.820 --> 00:02:50.760 But business isn't tennis. 49 00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:54.220 It's not about beating the other player. 50 00:02:54.220 --> 00:02:56.860 Harvest Loaf played the infinite game. 51 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:01.900 The whole thing here was to endure, to stay in the game, to play with purpose and keep 52 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:03.780 getting better and better. 53 00:03:03.780 --> 00:03:04.780 Keep evolving. 54 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:10.860 I'm sure you've noticed that when companies like Apple do their big product launches, 55 00:03:10.860 --> 00:03:16.900 they use words like this is the best iPhone we've ever created or this is the best Mac 56 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:18.620 we've ever made. 57 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:21.880 And you notice that their reference is to themselves. 58 00:03:21.880 --> 00:03:24.340 They're not referencing their competition. 59 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:25.840 They're referencing themselves. 60 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.140 The best iPhone we have ever made. 61 00:03:29.140 --> 00:03:32.940 And that is very much an infinite mindset. 62 00:03:32.940 --> 00:03:35.460 Okay, story number two. 63 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:38.420 We're going to call this one the marketing budget. 64 00:03:39.220 --> 00:03:46.100 When we look at finite resources versus infinite thinking, many of us fall into this trap. 65 00:03:46.100 --> 00:03:49.900 So we're going to use Mike who runs a local accounting firm. 66 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:56.080 Every January, he gets his marketing budget of $12,000 and he thinks, how can I spend 67 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:57.080 this this year? 68 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:59.240 I really need to make this count. 69 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:05.440 So Mike buys ads, sponsors events, tracks every penny and tries to match every lead 70 00:04:05.440 --> 00:04:07.980 generated against every dollar spent. 71 00:04:07.980 --> 00:04:12.140 And by December, he's usually spent his budget and then he just hopes that he's got enough 72 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:15.820 leads to get through the next quarter. 73 00:04:15.820 --> 00:04:18.459 Mike's team follows the same pattern. 74 00:04:18.459 --> 00:04:24.060 They hoard resources, protect their territories, measure success by how much they individually 75 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:27.120 contribute to the bottom line. 76 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.220 But an infinite mindset would be completely different. 77 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:34.740 So how would that look if Mike adopted infinite thinking? 78 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:39.420 So instead of asking, how do I spend this $12,000 effectively? 79 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:45.580 What if he asked, how do I build a marketing system that creates sustainable growth regardless 80 00:04:45.580 --> 00:04:46.580 of the budget? 81 00:04:46.580 --> 00:04:48.900 Now we're in infinite thinking. 82 00:04:48.900 --> 00:04:54.100 See then, Mike's training every leader to be a natural network and a referral generator 83 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:59.780 and they're working together so that the outcome is much bigger than the sum of the parts. 84 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.860 And I love that. 85 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:05.920 So now they're building systems, they're staying connected with past clients, they're building 86 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:09.720 value and serving people whether they buy or not. 87 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:13.320 They're building valuable content, they're giving away free. 88 00:05:13.320 --> 00:05:18.240 Because here's the powerful message, if you're giving away quality stuff free, then people 89 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:23.480 automatically assume that the stuff they pay for would be even better, a great way to play 90 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:25.320 the infinite game. 91 00:05:25.320 --> 00:05:32.840 So he would start investing and developing every member exactly why you're on this training 92 00:05:32.840 --> 00:05:38.120 course because your leaders thought it was worthwhile to train you to become a team of 93 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:39.320 leaders. 94 00:05:39.320 --> 00:05:42.480 That's exactly infinite thinking. 95 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.880 So the finite thinking says, what can I afford? 96 00:05:45.880 --> 00:05:51.760 Infinite thinking says, what systems can I build that generate value continuously? 97 00:05:51.760 --> 00:05:55.080 Two very different questions. 98 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:59.240 Alright, that leads us to story number three. 99 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.640 So here's a team that acts like owners. 100 00:06:02.640 --> 00:06:05.000 This is employees versus leaders. 101 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:10.680 Now we've spent several sessions learning how to become a team of leaders. 102 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:15.680 That everybody manages their own influence and they manage their own contribution and 103 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:18.920 so by default everybody is a leader. 104 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:24.600 So here's a simple story of a local bike shop that had five employees. 105 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:29.360 They just did their tasks, fixed bikes, make sales, go home. 106 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:33.040 But when things went wrong, everybody sat back and said, well that's kind of the owner's 107 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:34.440 problem. 108 00:06:34.440 --> 00:06:40.840 So eventually one employee, Carlos was his name, started seeing things differently. 109 00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:42.960 So he asked customers better questions. 110 00:06:42.960 --> 00:06:46.960 He started reorganizing the back room to save time. 111 00:06:46.960 --> 00:06:51.360 This quote wasn't his job, it's just what he saw the business needed. 112 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.360 He even started mentoring the part time guy because that's what the business needed. 113 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.440 You know the owner noticed and gave him more and more responsibility and soon the rest 114 00:06:59.440 --> 00:07:01.520 of the team caught on. 115 00:07:01.520 --> 00:07:06.280 And they stopped thinking about what's my job or saying that's not my job, but rather 116 00:07:06.280 --> 00:07:08.600 what does the business need? 117 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:13.040 So one of the signs that you're in a finite space is when people start saying that's not 118 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:16.000 my job or you don't pay me enough to do that. 119 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.040 Rather what does the business need? 120 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:25.080 So the business grew, but more importantly the team grew into a team of leaders. 121 00:07:25.080 --> 00:07:27.040 So here's what did Carlos understand? 122 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:30.680 What was it that made him different from the other four employees? 123 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:35.560 See Carlos, for whatever reason, developed an infinite mindset. 124 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.640 It's not just a job, it's a mission. 125 00:07:38.640 --> 00:07:39.640 And I get to shape it. 126 00:07:39.640 --> 00:07:42.080 I get to be part of something important. 127 00:07:42.080 --> 00:07:44.520 There is purpose to what I'm doing. 128 00:07:44.520 --> 00:07:49.760 And that's when we can get people to act like owners when even if they're not physically 129 00:07:49.760 --> 00:07:55.760 legally owners, but now they're playing for the mission, not for the paycheck. 130 00:07:55.760 --> 00:07:59.920 When we're interviewing people, we're looking for people who are missionaries. 131 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:02.480 They're in it to play for the mission. 132 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:06.800 They're not mercenaries looking simply for the paycheck. 133 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:11.000 So as we're thinking about that, we could summarize some of the core principles that 134 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:12.720 we've been learning here. 135 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:15.600 Let me give you three ways to think about this. 136 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.840 Firstly, purpose over performance. 137 00:08:18.840 --> 00:08:21.920 In the finite game, it's about hitting your numbers. 138 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:27.800 In the infinite game, how does my work contribute to something bigger than myself? 139 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:29.880 What does the business need? 140 00:08:29.880 --> 00:08:32.280 Number two, systems over solutions. 141 00:08:32.280 --> 00:08:38.280 Instead of finite fix the problem, the infinite thinking is let's build the capacity to handle 142 00:08:38.280 --> 00:08:41.440 any problem, not just fix this one problem. 143 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.360 Number three, development over delivery. 144 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:47.440 The finite thing is, well, let's just get the job done. 145 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:49.280 Let's just do this thing. 146 00:08:49.280 --> 00:08:55.440 The infinite game is how does this help us develop and do better and become better as 147 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:57.600 an organization? 148 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.720 So I hope you found that really interesting. 149 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:04.760 And before I leave, I want to give a separate challenge to leaders, team leaders, and to 150 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:07.020 everybody listening. 151 00:09:07.060 --> 00:09:12.700 To the owners, to the leaders of the leaders, ask yourself this question. 152 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:16.820 How can I build something that will thrive without me? 153 00:09:16.820 --> 00:09:19.340 This is called building a legacy. 154 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:24.780 And so we have to start developing everyone in our team so that the control isn't in one 155 00:09:24.780 --> 00:09:26.740 central space. 156 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:31.060 To the team leaders, ask yourself, how can I act like an owner? 157 00:09:31.060 --> 00:09:37.140 Instead of saying that's not my job or this is my job, think what does the business need? 158 00:09:37.140 --> 00:09:42.140 And for everyone else, let's stop thinking about how to beat the competition and start 159 00:09:42.140 --> 00:09:49.140 asking how can we build something so valuable that competition becomes irrelevant? 160 00:09:49.140 --> 00:09:53.900 So remember, business is not a finite game you can win. 161 00:09:53.900 --> 00:09:59.940 It's an infinite game and you can learn to play it better and better and better. 162 00:09:59.940 --> 00:10:00.440 Thank you. 163 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.640 The idea isn't to win, the idea is to endure. 164 00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:05.520 So, when every person on the team 165 00:10:05.520 --> 00:10:08.080 understands they're playing the infinite game, 166 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.560 they're building something bigger than themselves, 167 00:10:10.560 --> 00:10:12.200 they're developing capacities, 168 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.480 capabilities that outlast any single challenge 169 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:18.160 because they're really gearing up for all challenges. 170 00:10:18.160 --> 00:10:21.480 They're creating value that really serves people 171 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:23.540 whether they buy or not. 172 00:10:23.540 --> 00:10:25.680 And that's when you stop having employees 173 00:10:25.680 --> 00:10:28.700 and stop having a team of leaders. 174 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:32.180 That's when your business doesn't just become successful, 175 00:10:32.180 --> 00:10:34.620 but it becomes sustainable. 176 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:37.240 So the question isn't whether you'll face challenges, 177 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:40.340 competitions or change, that is definitely will happen. 178 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:43.320 The question is, are you building a team 179 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.620 that's ready to keep playing 180 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.660 no matter what the game throws at you? 181 00:10:48.660 --> 00:10:51.020 The infinite game starts today. 182 00:10:51.020 --> 00:10:52.560 So, let's go play.