Finite games, like football matches or chess games, are played by known players, have fixed rules, and a clear outcome. Winners and losers are easily recognizable.

In infinite games, like business, politics, or life itself, players come and go, rules change, and there is no clear outcome. In a game without end, there are no winners or losers. There is no such thing as a "winning business" or a "winning life." There is only progress or decline.

The more I began to understand the difference between finite and infinite games, the more infinite games I saw around us. I began to see that many of the difficulties organizations face exist simply because their leaders are playing an infinite game with a finite mindset. These organizations lack innovation, effort, morale, and ultimately performance. Conversely, leaders who think and act with an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspired organizations.

In Start with Why, I aimed to show the value of beginning with a purpose in everything we do. In Leaders Eat Last, I argued that leaders build trust by creating Circles of Safety. In this book, I try to offer a framework to help us find our way in the game we are all playing: the Infinite Game. 

Simon Sinek