Every executive should read Simon Sinek’s “The Infinite Game”

When producing events over two decades, you become a little more numb to the talent that you have on stage and it’s very rare for you to be impressed; after working through all the preplanning, content review and rehearsals, you are more deaf to the content by the time it’s being presented to the audience.  Not so with one specific presenter, Simon Sinek.

I had the pleasure of interacting with Simon at the Expedia Group Partner conference several years ago while I was directing the general session events.  His talk was one of my favorite and most memorable keynote speaker experiences over the decade that I directed those events for EG.  Why?  Most speakers use a presentation of some sort to help them convey their story.  He did not.  He just spoke plainly outlining his points in a manner where everyone could follow along.  Most speakers, and until this point I thought ALL speakers, would either go over or under on time.  He ended his speech exactly on time - at exactly 00:00.  Who does that….? Completely phenomenal!  Not only is he the first speaker that I’ve seen who has done it but definitely the only speaker that has ended with a flourish and a smile that said, “mic drop.”  In the moment, I leapt to my feet, along with the entire crew and gave the standing ovation along with the crowd.  It was the coolest thing I’d seen.

Key here:  if you are honing your speaker skills, I would look at some of his talks and replicate where you can (plus he has a 90 minute course on presenting that you can also sign up for).

During the presentation, he touched on core points from “Start with Why” and “Leaders Eat Last”, but he was also previewed upcoming content from “The Infinite Game” which was published in 2019.  I picked up the audiobook to accompany me on my daily long walk and can say that five years later, the level of relevance for the business world cannot be matched.  Everyone should read this, especially if you have any aspirations of being a leader of people.

Some core concepts:

• “Leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations.” 

• Competitors are considered “Worthy Rivals” that make you uncomfortable because they showcase those areas that you need to improve.  Embrace the lessons these rivals can give you in improving your skill, craft or knowledgebase.

• Company Goal setting is so important and should be felt personally by the team and not moon shots they feel are out of reach:  “A true Just Cause is deeply personal to those who espouse it. The more personal it is for people, the more likely our passions will be stoked to help advance it.”

• Keep the Vision in mind and in play: Sinek sites many examples of large, very successful companies that have veered away from their initial vision towards goals that are motivated by financial growth or shareholder value – large companies like Microsoft, Walmart, IBM, Blackberry and Kodak  -and those companies began to deteriorate until they moved back to their original, infinite Vision.  If they didn’t, they failed.

For those that love audiobooks, this one is approximately six and a half hours and an approachable read for those that need to burn some time on a flight or vacation.  It’s available anywhere you get your written content and you can learn more at simonsinek.com.

#Leadership, #BusinessBooks, #InfiniteMindset, #SimonSinek