2020: Book #6

“It’s not surprising that even well-intentioned leaders who value trust often fall into the trap of hiring and promoting high performers without regard to whether they can be trusted and trusting. Performance can easily be quantified in terms of output. Indeed, in business, we have all sorts of metrics to measure someone’s performance, but we have few if any effective metrics to measure someone’s trustworthiness. The funny thing is, it is actually incredibly easy to identify the high performers of low trust on any team. Simply go to the people on the team and ask who the asshole is. They will likely all point to the same person.”

“Think of an organization like a plant. No matter how strong it is, no matter how tall it grows, if it cannot make new seeds, if it is unable to produce new leaders, then its ability to thrive for generations beyond is nil. One of the primary jobs of any leader is to make new leaders. To help grow the kind of leader who knows how to build organizations….”

“The true value of an organization is measured by the desire others have to contribute to that organization’s ability to keep succeeding, not just during the time they are there, but well beyond their own tenure.”

These are all quotes from Simon Sinek’s new book, “The Infinite Game.”

Sinek wants businesses and organization to exist for more than money.
He claims there needs to be some infinite just cause for the business.

It’s a phenomenal read.
He’s persuasive and makes an argument that is tough to dispute.

But then you hit chapter 5 of the book, “The Responsibility of Business.”

In my opinion, the book goes off the rails in this chapter.

Sinek gets to the very edge of stating that an organization shouldn’t worry about financial success.

Should a business have an infinite just cause?
Yes.

But how do you fund it?
Sinek admits that businesses must make money to stay in business, but he doesn’t want that to be the main focus.

I get it.

His point is good.

Life, business, and organizations must have a higher purpose than just money.

However, we can’t abandon a sustainable economic model.

Sinek states that existing for money is the finite game.
Having an ongoing overarching higher purpose is the infinite game.

Really great book.
It will certainly make you stop and think at various points.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

That’s book #6 for 2020.

46 more to go.

If you want to be a better leader…be a reader.

#52in2020