The Game of 6000 Weeks
Game theory is valuable. It’s worth understanding the basics.
Simon Sinek in his book The Infinite Game, describes:
Finite Games:
- Known players
- Fixed rules
- Agreed upon outcome
Infinite Games:
- Known and unknown players
- Rules are changeable
- Goal to keep playing the game
All sports and athletes play finite games while business is typically a finite game, although Sinek suggests it’s best when it’s an infinite game and life is an infinite game. It’s a good idea not to confuse them.
Examples of finite games are endless, while it’s the same for infinite games, they can be less obvious. Here’s a recent example.
I know a guy named Bob. Bob was in line for a promotion to ‘partner’ at the company he works for. He’d ticked all the boxes. Completed the partner program and was already being paid more than a first year partner. He was to be a salary partner, not an equity partner, so it’s literally nothing more than a title change to ‘Partner’.
Along came change in hierarchy at the firm and Bob somehow missed out on the partner intake. Bob was not impressed, nor was Bob’s immediate boss.
COVID had already delayed promotions to partner, before this new scenario.
His boss went into bat for Bob with the hierarchy, but the hierarchy wouldn’t budge.
Bob decided to look elsewhere for employment asking his boss to be a reference. His boss disappointed at the prospect of loosing a key asset, asked Bob ‘what do we have to do to keep you?’
Bob named his price and the company quickly and happily obliged.
The question is why would the firm not promote Bob to partner when he was already being paid more than first year partners? It was simply a title change.
The next question is why was the firm quick to pay Bob lot more money to stay and be promoted in the next intake?
The answers are found in game theory.
If work is the ‘game’ and the firm’s staff the ‘players’ the goal is to have the players continue playing the game happily.
So, once the promotional decisions had been made for the intake, making a change to include Bob would no doubt upset some of the other players, who may be in a similar position. This would result in unhappy players and some players leaving the game.
Instead, by the firm increasing Bob’s wage, it keeps Bob from leaving the game and no one else knows Bob got a significant pay rise to stay, so all the other players are happy to stay in the game.
Win-win.
