Marketing campaign strategies comprise a fine balancing act between the long and short-term. Short-term may benefit your immediate P&L but may lack the longevity that fosters affinity and advocacy, it’s the quick win, but makes it nigh on impossible to create brand loyalty. On the flip side, the success of long-term thinking is difficult to measure and your return on investment will not be apparent for years to come. The issue with either approach is that they are rooted in what author and organisational consultant, Simon Sinek calls “a finite mindset”.

Having recently just finished Simon Sinek’s fifth book “The Infinite Game” I found myself wondering if I would be able to simplify what I’d learned reading it into a single blog post. Well, I’m about to find out, and don’t worry, there will be no spoilers here, I’m not nearly articulate enough to ruin it for you. If you’re not familiar with Simon Sinek’s ideas and philosophies, then I highly suggest you take a couple of minutes out of your lunchbreak today and watch the two links below:

In “The Infinite Game” Sinek reinforces his philosophy by noting many case studies where business leaders failed to adopt an infinite mindset. He notes a number of factors which the leaders of each business at the time unknowingly adopted a finite mindset to the detriment of their businesses such as; setting an end goal, choosing the wrong investors, trust breakdown, financial focus over people, ethical degradation, losing its “just cause” vision for the future, and a host of others.

Here’s my brief synopsis of what you’ll learn:

The ‘Just Cause’ is what Sinek calls the vision for your business. It has no finish line. It’s the vision you want your business to adhere to for the rest of time. Companies whose vision is “to be the No.1 etc etc” have a bias in their measurement of success, and it’s a self-prescribed end goal. He notes how Apple had always adopted a Just Cause to “Open the world of personal computing to everyone”, a vision which saw them eclipse Microsoft for years, as their competitors were too focussed on just beating them to the chase.
A Worthy Rival: Having competition is healthy, measuring yourself against a competitor is smart, but should not be your focus or how you determine success. You are ultimately competing against yourself. Find a worthy adversary who pushes you to improve, learn and diversify, but realise that you’re not trying to beat them, you’re trying to improve your own offering.
Creating a CVO: More often than not, a person who progresses to the role of CEO is the most ambitious person in the company, however, that doesn’t mean they are the right person to lead. The creation of a Chief Visionary Officer and giving the CFO and COO equality in the hierarchy to the CEO will enable your business to adopt an infinite mindset, futureproofing your business. The CVO constantly reassures your investors and staff that you are on the right path in the never-ending game of business.

Simon Sinek has made a living out of his views on leadership, by his own admission, it’s a living he shouldn’t be able to make if business leaders adopted an infinite mindset. There are several superb anecdotes he uses to support the argument, not least how America lost the Vietnam War, despite winning pretty much every battle in it. It’s a great read, and you should pick up a copy from your local bookshop if any of the above interests you.

“The game of business fits the very definition of an infinite game… Despite the fact that companies are playing in a game that cannot be won, too many business leaders keep playing as if they can.”

Finite Marketing Strategies vs The Infinite Game

“The game of business fits the very definition of an infinite game… Despite the fact that companies are playing in a game that cannot be won, too many business leaders keep playing as if they can.”

I’ll leave it at that.

- GC