chapter 1 essay (1)

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101

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Philosophy

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Oct 30, 2023

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Chapter 1 essay So what is the difference between football and a successful business? This sounds like an unusual question but in chapter one in Finite and Infinite games, by James P Carse, the author argues these are both types of games with unique rules. Football is an finite game because it has fixed rules such as the uniforms that you need to wear to help the audience identify who each player is. There is also a defined set of rules in football and there are referees to make sure that those rules are enforced. Players have to agree to play by the rules of the game and have to accept the penalties they get if they ever break the rules. Everyone also has to agree that whoever scores the most points by the end of the game is declared the winner. Meanwhile, a successful business is an infinite game. An infinite game is a game where there are no winner or losers, no endpoint, and the rules can change. You cannot really “win” in a business: if it becomes successful, there is no event where you win, you just continue the journey. If you ask business owners how they became successful, they don’t really know the answer to that question because there are no set rules to a successful business. The first chapter of Finite and Infinite Games defines the differences between finite and infinite games and argues that these games require different mindsets, and recoginzing when to have an infinite game mindset can lead to better choices and outcomes. First the author provides definitions of finite and infinite games, providing examples that would be familiar to the audience. Everyone can name examples of finite games: football, soccer, monopoly, connect 4, tic tac toe, etc. These games have defined endpoints and players work towards the goal of winning. There will always be a beginning, middle, and end. But, infinite games do not have an end point or a set of rules. There are really no winners and losers an in infinite game and the rules can be changed at any time. An infinite game is played by players who might not even know it’s a game. For example, school can be thought of like an infinite game, and there is no such thing as winning in education. The author argues many things in life can be thought of as infinite games with their own players and changing rules, and approaching life like a infinite game and not a finite game has great advantages. No matter how successful we are in life we will never be declared a winner like you would in a finite game. By approaching life's challenges like an infinite game we can better understand success. People who have the infinite mindset tend to enjoy vastly higher levels of trust, cooperation and innovation and all the subsequent benefits because they are not approaching the game as if there is a set endpoint. The author says that the benefits of an infinite mindset are that the true value of a successful business cannot be achieved just because of the journey that it took. The true value of an organization was created by others who contributed and made the business continue to become successful. A player with a finite mindset will play till the end until there is a winner and a loser. A

organization that has a finite focused mindset will come up with creative ways to boost the finish line but those types of decisions don’t usually benefit the organization, the employees and the customers who are apart from that finish line. This type of mindset dosen’t usually lead to a better future for this organization and it also leads us to a mess. Of course, the author argues that it can be difficult to maintain a infinite game mindset. Many leaders can easily fall back into a finite mindset, which can be detrimental. An example of this can be found in companies who choose to give up and also in consequential historical events, like U.S leadership during the Vietnam war. However, the author argues that keeping an infinite game mindset can help us make better decisions. In conclusion, the author spends chapter 1 laying out the differences between finite and infinite games. After providing definitions and examples, the author brings us to a new, central, and helpful idea that we can approach life as either a infinite game or a finite game. The author argues that an infinite game mindset can help us make better decisions and lead to a better approach to life. The author will continue to describe these mindsets as we continue the book.

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