High Performance: Patience and Playing the Infinite Game

High Performance: Patience and Playing the Infinite Game

Patience and the ability to wait for something without becoming frustrated is a valuable character trait often found in high performers. 

In a world driven by digital disruption and services on demand, I'm not yet aware that "success on demand" exists, although I'm sure Amazon have this on their product road-map! Certainly continued sustainable success isn’t something available on demand. It comes from hard work and disciplined action that is repeated consistently over a long period of time. 

I became aware of Simon Sinek in the last couple of years following a recommendation from friend and colleague Rob Sims, CEO at Elite Group. I’ve since read Simon’s books and regularly consume his content. In his most recent book "The Infinite Game", Simon talks about the difference between finite and infinite games and finite and infinite mindsets which lends itself to the importance of deploying patience for high performance in any field. In finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified. In infinite games, like business, politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules are changeable and there is no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game, Simon suggests, there is only ahead and behind.

Understanding the difference between finite and infinite games is critical, especially for those leading businesses. Any organisation will struggle if their leaders play with a finite mindset in an infinite game. These organisations tend to lag behind in innovation, discretionary effort, morale and ultimately performance. In contrast, the leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger more innovative, more inspiring organisations. Their people trust each other and their leaders. They have resilience to thrive in an ever-changing world, whilst their competitors fall by the wayside. 

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In the past I’ve been guilty of leading with a finite mindset, obsessing only over the performance and numbers for the next month, quarter or Financial Year at the time, rarely taking the time to really think long term. Inevitably, this has led to some poor decision making on my part, that on the face of it seemed great within a short term and finite setting but only led to bigger challenges and greater pain further down the road. Leading with an infinite mindset and playing the long game is an important lesson I’ve learnt from consuming Simon Sinek's content and reflecting on past experiences.

But deploying patience and leading with an infinite mindset is not always possible. Rightly or wrongly, I am generally in favour of Capitalism and a big supporter of Entrepreneurship and have strong beliefs that in the main, people and the world would be worse off without these political and economic systems. Having said that, the continued rise of private equity in the global economy for the most part, appears to undermine the notion of deploying patience and playing the infinite game. It is well reported that pressures increase on those PE backed businesses to play a very finite game, often resulting in severe cost cutting and job losses and not always in the long term best interests of the business.

Private equity firms have a chequered history with businesses. The role that private equity owners JAB Holdings and Bridgepoint Capital before them played in the public demise of Pret a Manger, the global food chain brand, have been well reported. The company was founded in 1986 and had always managed to project a wholesome image of smiling staff serving handmade natural food. Branding experts have said that their message was so strong that the company never had to advertise. Yet, over time, Pret seems to have lost much of the entrepreneurial spirit of its founders, Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, as it pursued rapid growth under demanding private equity ownership, cutting costs and reducing quality in their products and service which inevitably led to serious problems. The storm of criticism that has rained down on Pret is unprecedented including but not limited to employment claims relating to underpaying staff, alleged use of the illegal practice of "time shaving" where hours are rounded down to reduce pay, reports of misleading labelling of products and breaching in advertising standards by claiming that some of its bread products were “natural” when in fact they featured E numbers. The controversy surrounding Pret culminated in the tragic death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after a severe allergic reaction to one of the company’s baguettes.

For business leaders trying to run a company under a private equity owner, the demands can be extreme. Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of Pure Gym which is backed by the US private equity house Leonard Green has described the relationship with PE as a “Faustian pact” akin to selling your soul to the devil in order to obtain power and riches. At his previous company, the bike retailer Wiggle, Cobbold fell foul of the investors, who ironically also happened to be Bridgepoint Captial. The disagreement led to his rapid exit from the company.

The private equity investment model typically looks to exit investments in 3 to 5 years in order to generate a multiple on invested capital of 2 to 4 times and an internal rate of return (IRR) of around 20 to 30%. Whilst there are many success stories and private equity remains a key strategic vehicle available for companies to access capital investment for growth, business owners should be weary of the model that applies a very finite mindset of only 3 to 5 years to the infinite game of business. As I have already eluded to, I have been guilty in the past of leading with a finite mindset and have learned hard lessons from previously taking this approach. Business really is an infinite game and in my experience, if you play it with a finite mindset for too long, at some point it is going to catch up with you! Certainly it could be argued that it has caught up with Pret a Manger amongst countless others.

There are no winners or losers in an infinite game according to Simon Sinek, there is only ahead and behind. In slight contrast, I do believe that in the micro of life and business you can experience "micro wins" and "micro losses" along the way. Certainly I talk a lot about the difference between winners and losers when drawing comparisons between high performance in sport and business. So on the use of terminology alone, my views aren't aligned exactly with those of Simon Sinek, but in the macro sense of life and business and the principles of playing these infinite games with an infinite mindset, I am in complete agreement. 

During my time in business, I've lost count of the people (young and old.. but mostly young) that have made poor choices because of a lack of patience and thinking too short term, in a rush to get more now, often without first doing the work and bringing the required value. I have to confess, in the ignorance of my youth and earlier in my career, I have been guilty of the same. Luckily, I've had great mentors to teach me about humility and self-awareness. 

The importance of patience (and hard work) is summarised perfectly in a quote from possibly the greatest footballer of this generation - Lionel Messi. 

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My advice to those aspiring high performers is, be patient and always play the long game. In the end, there is no hack or shortcut for sustainable success and there is no such thing as an overnight success. But please don't mistaken patience as an excuse to opt out of turning up each day and doing the hard work.

And for those people in privileged positions of leadership in businesses, there will undoubtedly be times when you have no choice but to lead with a finite mindset, especially when environmental and socio-economic factors along with market forces dictate short term priorities. However, I would urge you not to overlook that patience and leading with an infinite mindset is the only way to really create a strong, inspiring and sustainable business of great and enduring value.

In the game of life, the only choice we've got is whether we want to play with a finite mindset of an infinite mindset." - Simon Sinek

About the Author

Adam Turton is the Managing Director for Communications at Elite Group. Formerly the Sales Director, Adam is one of the longest standing Board members at Elite Group with over 15 years' experience in the B2B Technology and Communications sector. After studying Psychology and completing a Masters in Sports Psychology, Adam worked in professional sport as a Coach, Mentor and Sports Psychologist before making the transition into the business world. He has a proven track record for motivating and leading high performance teams and has helped mentor and develop many people in the business who now hold key or senior positions. Adam is an active investor across a range of sectors, particularly within technology, media and telecommunications, including various public and privately-owned businesses. With a real passion for business, Adam also sits on the Board as a Director in other successful companies. Adam is available to comment on Business Strategy, Leadership and building High Performance Teams.

James McDonough

Account Director at Elite Group

3y

Brilliant article Adam Turton. I am sure you have read it but highly recommend leaders eat last. Phenomenal book!

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