Over the weekend, I was bingeing on Netflix and being a diehard Star Trek Fan (or Trekkie, as we Geeks call ourselves), I re-watched one of my favourite episodes in Season 2.
This is the one where Commander Data, an Android, was competing in a fictional game called Strategema with the Galaxy’s Top Player, Kolrami, who had never been defeated. Between expert players, a game would not last beyond 1000 moves.
Even though Data was a walking supercomputer, he surprisingly lost that match in under 100 moves. Undeterred, he re-strategised his approach and asked for a re-match.
This time, instead of trying to WIN the round (which Data knew he couldn’t), he merely tried to DRAW and stay in the game as long as he could just to tire his opponent out – after all, a computer never fatigues, does it? The match lasted 32,000 moves (!) and Kolrami finally surrendered and stormed off, yelling “This is unfair!”
So, effectively, our favourite Android won by not winning.
And this idea of playing the Long Game, or what Simon Sinek calls The Infinite Game, really changes our perspective about many things in life.
You see, unlike a “Finite Game” like Chess or Monopoly, an “Infinite Game” is defined as one with
1. Known and unknown players,
2. Where the rules are dynamic and changeable, and
3. The objective is not to win every round
The main aim is to continuously play the game and keep it going on indefinitely.
Just like our Careers.
You see, the big problem with many of us is that we tend to view our Careers as a ‘Finite Game’. We mess up a big deal, we think our career is over. We lose a job, we get swept into a depression. We miss that promotion, we think our future is doomed.
But is it really?
The famous American baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra once quipped – “It Ain’t Over, Till It’s Over.”
You see, there are 9 Innings (rounds) in a game of Baseball and there will always the next round that will pull you through… or perhaps do you in (if you’re not careful).
And even if you do lose the game, don’t lose heart. There’s always the next match with another team, or the next season ahead, or even the next few Seasons to come.
“Our Career is but a series of jobs in our life. You could win some, lose some… and still come out on top in the end. You only lose when you STOP playing the Game. “
So, never give up when you encounter a set-back as we all inevitably do from time to time. Pause, restrategise, and go at it again with a different approach but with even more gusto!
But Adrian, what are some strategies you can share with us regarding playing this Infinite Career Game?
Well, here are some ideas for you.
1. Don’t Rush the Game
Some things cannot be expedited, no matter how much effort you put in or how much resources you throw at it, or how badly you want the round to end.
A mentor of mine once said, “It takes one woman 9 months to give birth, but that doesn’t mean it will take 9 women one month to do so.”
Learn to exercise patience when achieving your goals. The Infinite Career Game is a long one and you need to pace yourself for this 40 year journey you are on.
2. Don’t Set Unrealistic Expectations
Alexander The Great conquered the World at age 25, but you don’t have to, nor are people expecting you to.
That’s unrealistic.
Sometimes, this fast-moving world deceives us into thinking that the ‘rat-race’ is real and we need to be #1 every time, without fail.
This is tiring, stressful and unproductive.
Plan your moves carefully and make sure what you are setting out to do is both reasonable and achievable.
3. Don’t Compare Yourself to Other People
This probably the toughest one to do.
Last month, I was at a ‘Strongman Showdown’ where athletes competed with each other on a series of strenuous tasks to see who could be fastest.
The final 2 Contestants seemed unequally matched in terms of size.
The smaller guy stumbled at the first part of the game and gave the bigger guy a significant lead.
Undeterred, he soldiered on in second position, ignoring Mr Big until the final station where the larger guy fell over in exhaustion, earning Mr Small the Champion’s trophy.
Different people have different journeys, different pathways and different timelines.
Do not be blinded by your schoolmates, neighbours or colleagues’ progress in life.
Ignore the wonders you see on their Instagram or Facebook feeds (it’s probably faked anyway).
Work at your own pace, determine your own milestones and define your own destination.
4. Be Consistent
Question: As a boss, would you hire someone who would score some REALLY HUGE wins in some months but underperform for the rest of the year, or would you prefer someone who consistently achieved her targets with no drama involved?
Many would prefer the Steady Worker over an Inconsistent Over-Performer.
Likewise we should not always strive for the rare BIG WINS but work towards regular and predictable high quality results as it displays reliability.
Remember the old fable about the Tortoise and the Hare – the maxim to bear in mind here is “Slow and Steady Wins The Race!”
5. Be Resilient
Because the Infinite Career Game is by definition, a long one, we need to have the resilience to ride out the bumps to keep playing all the way to the end.
Sometimes, that journey takes 50 years!
This requires courage, mental stamina, and also knowing when to pause and have a break to recharge so you can get back into the game once you’re refreshed.
Play the long game, rest, recharge and restrategise at every step of the way.
So what should this mean to you?
Realise that whether you miss a promotion, get retrenched or mess up a major deal, it doesn’t quite matter in the long run as these events are but temporary losses.
When you are at the end of your journey and looking back at things, they will be mere blips in the history books that have hardly affected your outcome.
Never quit trying, never quit moving forward, and never stop believing that something better is coming around the corner if you just stick at it long enough and press onwards.
“Because in the Infinite Career Game, you only lose when you stop playing the Game.”