The Infinite Game
by Simon Sinek · first published 2019
47% recommend47% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Argues that business and life work better as an infinite game aimed at lasting, not beating rivals to a finish line; cites its case against short-term thinking and stock-price focus. Suits leaders rethinking success.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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See also: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. Great read (based on a previous work, Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse) on the need to play on a different playing field than the one that supposedly has a 'winner' and a 'loser.'…
on “Being OK with not being extraordinary” ↗Workers vs investors shouldn't be seen as a zero sum game. If it is then that's short-term thinking. Simon Sinek explains this all very well in The Infinite Game.
on “Embrace Complexity; Tighten Your Feedback Loops” ↗…ornament. It is a touchstone. And no amount of corporate social responsibility is enough to offset or balance the finite focus that may consume the rest of the corporate culture" - Simon Sinek, "The Infinite Game" An excellent book that I'm recommending more and more.
on “The Disneyfication of a University” ↗The first 2 are my first 2 too, although I read The Infinite Game - Simon Sinek instead. Infinite Games taught me to control jealousy, Man's Search for Meaning gave me direction in me trying to find meaning in my life (still on that journey) I am reading The Beginning…
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you have read with the greatest impact on you?” ↗I think this is aligns with Simon Sinek's philosophy in The Infinite Game[0], which I really enjoyed reading. I totally agree with your point: business mindset is a choice. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Infinite_Game
on “Google Announces Layoffs: A difficult decision to set us up for the future” ↗This article is similar to Sinek’s book The Infinite Game, which I enjoyed a lot. Off topic and personal: I have enjoyed the tech industry for almost 50 years, but being in my 70s I just don’t have the energy to do everything I want to do. I still play the…
on “Infinite Games” ↗Sorry to be a little off topic: the book “The Infinite Game” has a good discussion on why corporate leaders should not take a short term view of maintaining stock price. Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. (The infinite game - stay in the game, whatever you are…
on “Are U.S companies legally obligated to maximize profits for shareholders? (2012)” ↗Depends on the company. Conscious Capitalism and the Infinite Game are great books on why that's not the best approach.
on “Midjourney CEO Silencing Satire About Xi Jinping” ↗I think the best short answer I can give is that I’m generally aligned with the book The Infinite Game.
on “I regret selling my startup” ↗…cannot imagine living with these thought patterns, it truly sounds like hell to me. You don’t need to do hard things or overcome adversity every day to have purpose and find life fulfilling, it is an Infinite Game (read the book), not a Finite one. If you are reading the comments, IMO these giant grand gestures to find some spark of insight (climbing mountains, moving to Hawaii, etc.) aren’t going to accomplish…
on “I am rich and have no idea what to do” ↗I loved the book The Infinite Game. Really changed how I looked at work, personal research, and being an author. Recommended!
on “Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra” ↗Everything by Simon Sinek, but most important for me is "Leaders Eat Last" [0]. I haven't read the last one (The Infinite Game), but I've heard it's pretty good as well. Also Extreme Ownership [1] and Dichotomy of Leadership [2] by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. All of these books had tremendous impact on me as a leader and…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗…norm. Wall Street / Investors first. Infinite and ridiculous QoQ / YoY growth expectations and a lot of really dumb approaches to achieve this. And executive pay that's way out of line. I just read "The Infinite Game" [0] and while a lot of the book rehashes many oft heard stories amidst well known companies and people as examples it makes the clear point that given our hyper focus on short term profits we pay the…
on “IBM to cut thousands of jobs as coronavirus plays out” ↗…very impressed by how much is has clarified the importance of identifying repeatable steps for my team and ensuring they are accurately and successfully completed! I’m looking forward to reading The Infinite Game [1] [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667514-the-checklist-ma... [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38390751-the-infinite-ga...
on “Ask HN: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2019?” ↗So, as of this comment, all I know is that Simon Sinek has a book called The Infinite Game. This book has an interesting premise, about which I just read a short writeup and analysis. I have also been told that Sinek has excellent presentation skills. Strangely, in the middle of these two…
on “Being OK with not being extraordinary” ↗