The concept of infinite-mindedness, as presented in The Infinite Game, challenges the traditional business leadership paradigm of focusing on short-term goals and competition. Instead, it encourages leaders to adopt a long-term vision, focusing on outdoing their own past performance rather than beating competitors. This approach fosters innovation and resilience, as demonstrated by Apple's strategy under Steve Jobs. Rather than obsessing over competing with Microsoft's Zune, Apple focused on surpassing its own iPod, leading to the revolutionary iPhone.

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The Infinite Game

What’s the difference between leaders who only achieve short-term success and visionaries who create resilient and truly competitive organizations? Re...

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When Apple launched the iPod, Microsoft responded by releasing the elegantly designed, feature-rich Zune to capture Apple's market share. While Microsoft was obsessed with Apple, Apple, under the infinite-minded Steve Jobs, was not competing with Microsoft. Apple was focused on outdoing itself. Within a year of the Zune's launch, Apple released the iPhone that redefined smartphones and made both the Zune and the iPod virtually obsolete. Infinite-mindedness opens novel paths to innovation.

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One of the most innovative ideas presented in The Infinite Game is the concept of 'infinite-mindedness'. This idea suggests that successful leaders and organizations are not those that focus on beating their competitors, but those that focus on outdoing themselves. This mindset opens up new paths to innovation. An example of this is when Apple, under the leadership of Steve Jobs, released the iPhone. Instead of focusing on competing with Microsoft's Zune, Apple focused on surpassing its own iPod, leading to the creation of a product that redefined smartphones and made both the Zune and the iPod virtually obsolete.

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