In the COVID Era, More Than Ever, Business is Not a Simple Game to Win or Lose
I was reading an article written more than two years ago about the idea of infinite and finite games. Simon Sinek has been speaking about this for years and has a book on the subject as well. As I re-read the article, it seemed more relevant now than it did even then. The world is always evolving, especially from a business sense. This year has created change unlike anything we have seen. It is clearer now more than ever that we are not playing a simple game that has defined winners or losers. Most just battle to stay in the game at all.
Even two years after I first published this, Sears continues to hang on - even more a shadow of its former self. Amazon has continued to morph into much more than an online retailer. It made ‘on the fly’ adjustments earlier this year as the Coronavirus shifted everything. I am certain what Amazon will do is learn from the dynamics played out in March, April, and May and adapt to be even more flexible for the future. They will take what was a challenge for them and make it a strength for the future. Walmart and Target have done the same in the past few months.
Target spent the last couple of years redefining and rebuilding their e-commerce business. It more than paid off in the early months of this year when businesses were devastated by stay at home orders. Those that could adjust quickly to a changing landscape will have the ability to build for the future. This is NOT winning though. That is survival, and short-term that may have been the only option. But that is the point: if you play to a defined winning outcome, you will be disappointed. The game goes on, it changes, and either business will evolve with it or the new players will take their place.
Often we hear that we must wage battles to win the war against our competition. In business, we sometimes have a fascination with using terms that create artificial conflict. We create ‘war rooms’ or ‘battle plans’ for rolling out new initiatives. Are we really fighting to win a ‘roll-out’? We want to beat the competition, but do we have a full understanding of what that looks like?
In his recent works, Simon Sinek has been discussing the idea of infinite and finite games of business. He makes some excellent points in that often businesses do not even realize the rules of the games they are playing. Most businesses believe they are playing a game that has defined boundaries with clear winners and losers. That must be how it works - right? Hasn’t it always been that way? Sinek accurately points out that the best businesses, those we see as most successful, are playing an entirely different game that doesn’t follow old rules. They see the game as ever-changing and one that does not have a defined winner at any given time.
Pause for a moment and think about this concept. What does winning mean in a retail arena? Does it mean you put a competitor out of business? Is the game over at that point? What would that look like? Looking through history, I cannot find an example of where a dominant business ever reached a point where they “won the game.” Sears was once a dominant retailer; today, they hang on to their existence by a fraying thread. Kmart, Toys R Us, Montgomery Ward, and Sports Authority are other familiar names that were once top players in the retail field. They all played the game thinking they could ‘win,' yet never understood the game they were playing.
It is easy to point a finger at Amazon and place blame. However, it may just be that Amazon has figured out that the game is different. There are no defined rules; there is no standard finish line to reach. Rather they continue to push themselves and others to reach new heights and explore new areas to serve customers in. Amazon started as a simple online book ordering business. And had they stayed just an online retailer, the likelihood that they would exist as we know them today would be almost zero. Instead, they continue to create new rules, break into new areas, and expand in ways no one would have guessed several years ago. The leading online retailer, the one responsible for the downfall of many retail giants, is also a major media company, created and supplies the number one home automation tool available right now, and yes, still makes sure almost anything you can desire will be at your door within 48 hours.
For any business in today’s environment, especially retailers, the time has come to realize that the game is not about numbers or about winning or losing. It is about serving and being more to a customer than just a name, a brand, or a collection of products. Businesses must look for new ways to connect and engage with people. They must challenge the idea of a simple winning or losing thought process. We must heed Sinek’s advice and realize it is an infinite game, which means endless possibilities. That is an exciting thing if we embrace it.
How will you make the switch to playing the infinite game?
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