Raise Your Legislative Game From Finite to Infinite: WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING THE INFINITE GAME, THERE IS NO WINNING OR LOSING--BECAUSE THE GAME NEVER ENDS. THERE'S ONLY "AHEAD" OR "BEHIND" ON THE SCOREBOARD.

• Author: Stedron, Curt
• Position: TOOLKIT

In game theory, there are "finite" games and "infinite" games.

A finite game has known players, fixed rules and agreed-upon objectives. Football is a finite game.

An infinite game has known and unknown players as well as changeable rules; the objective is simply to keep playing, to perpetuate the game. Business is an infinite game. Business has been around for centuries, longer than any company currently in existence, and it's likely to continue indefinitely, long after all current companies are gone.

No one "wins" business. Players come and go. The rules change, and the players try to keep playing the game for as long as possible.

Does that sound a bit like the legislature? A constantly changing cast of players (every election cycle) who are constantly changing the rules of the game (it's literally your job to change rules) to continue to compete.

Yet many members and staff operate as if they were playing a finite game, focusing their attention on short-term goals, such as winning the next election or passing a specific bill. They fail to see how those achievements (significant as they may be) are merely innings or quarters or periods or sets in a much longer "game" of politics that marches ever onward.

And they are forever frustrated by competitors who have a long-range vision, who play on a different time horizon, constantly adapting to ever-changing rules--who, in short, play an infinite game. Remember the Whigs? The Know-Nothings? Those competitors who continue to play a finite game against an infinite opponent often disappear from the playing field.

And here's why, according to leadership expert Simon Sinek: When you are playing the infinite game, there is no winning or losing--because the game never ends. There's only "ahead" or "behind" on the scoreboard. The goal isn't to beat the competition; it is simply to outlast the competition.

So, here's the irony: The only true competitor you have as a member of an organization in an infinite game is... yourself. How do we improve our legislative products? How can we make our processes and procedures better than they are now? How can we develop the talent of our members or our legislative staff? Your competitive comparison is always yourself because you must find ways to improve so that you can survive and thrive over time.

Tactical Transformations

Sinek lays out several attributes that are key to survival in an infinite game. The most critical is what he calls "existential flexibility,"...