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[Applause]

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So, I'm embarrassed that I have a career.

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I talk about things like trust and

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cooperation, and there should be no

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demand for my work. But the fact of the

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matter is, there is demand for my work,

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which means that there's an opportunity.

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It means that trust and cooperation are

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not yet standard in our organizations,

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and yet they should be, and we know that,

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which is why we're looking for ways to

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bring those things to our organizations.

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So, I thought I would do something a

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little different today. You know, when

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you're speaking to tens of thousands of

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people and you have the opportunity to

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share a message, of course, most rational

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people would say, "Let's go with something

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I've talked about lots of times and I'm

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really good at," but I'm not normal, so I'm

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going to do something completely new, and I

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hope this works out. There are two things

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that I think that great leaders need to

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have: empathy and perspective. And I think

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these things are very often forgotten.

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Leaders are so often so concerned about

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their status or their position in an

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organization they actually forget their

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real job. And the real job of a leader is

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not about being in charge, it's about

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taking care of those in our charge. And I

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don't think people realize this, and I

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don't think people train for this. When

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we're junior, our only responsibility is

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to be good at our jobs. That's all we

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really have to do. And some people

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actually go get advanced educations

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so that they can be really good at their

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jobs--accountants or whatever. Right? And

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you show up, and you work hard, and the

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company will give us tons and tons of

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training on how to do our jobs. They'll

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show us how to use the software. They'll

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send us away for a few days to get

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trained in whatever it is that we're

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doing for the company. And then they

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expect us to go be good at our jobs. And

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that's what we do, we work very hard. And

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if you're good at your job, they'll

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promote you. And at some point, you'll get

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promoted to position where we're now

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responsible for the people who do the

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job we used to do, but nobody shows us

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how to do that. And that's why we get

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managers and not leaders. Because the

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reason our managers are

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micromanaging us is because they

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actually do know how to do the job

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better than us. That's what got them

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promoted. Really, what we have to do is go

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through a transition. Some people make it

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quickly, some people make it slowly, and

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unfortunately, some people will never

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make that transition at all. Which is we

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have to go this through this transition

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of being responsible for the job and

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then turning it to somebody who's now

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responsible for the people who are

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responsible for the job. And as I said

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before, one of the great things that is

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lacking in most of our companies is that

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they are not teaching us how to lead. And

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leadership is a skill like any other. It is

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a practicable, learnable skill. And it is

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something that you work on--it's like a

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muscle. If you practice it all the days,

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you will get good at it, and you will

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become a strong leader. If you stop

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practicing, you will become a weak leader.

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Like parenting, everyone has the capacity

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to be a parent. Doesn't mean everybody

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wants to be a parent, and doesn't mean

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everybody should be a parent.

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Leadership is the same. We all have the

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capacity to be a leader, doesn't mean

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everybody should be a leader, and it

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doesn't mean everybody wants to be a

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leader. And the reason is because it

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comes at great personal sacrifice.

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Remember, you're not in charge; you're

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responsible for those in your charge.

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That means things like when everything

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goes right, you have to give away all the

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credit. And when everything goes wrong,

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you have to take all the responsibility.

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That sucks, right? It's things like

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staying late to show somebody what to do.

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It's things like when something does

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actually break, when something goes wrong,

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instead of yelling and screaming and

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taking over, you say, "Try again." When the

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overwhelming pressures are not on them,

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the overwhelming pressures are on us. At

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the end of the day, great leaders are not

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responsible for the job, they're

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responsible for the people who are

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responsible for the job. They're not even

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responsible for the results. I love

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talking to CEOs and saying, "What's your

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priority?" And they put their hands on

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their hips all proud and say, "My priority

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is my customer." I'm like, "Really? You haven't talked

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to a customer in fifteen years."

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[Audience laughing].

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There's no CEO on the planet responsible

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for the customer. They're just not.

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They're responsible for the people who are

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responsible for the people who are

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responsible for the customer. I'll tell

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you a true story. A few months ago, I

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stayed at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.

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It is a wonderful hotel. And the reason

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it's a wonderful hotel is not because of

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the fancy beds. Any hotel can go and buy

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a fancy bed.

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The reason it's a wonderful hotel is

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because of the people who work there.

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If you walk past somebody at the Four

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Seasons and they say hello to

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you, you get the feeling that they

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actually wanted to say hello to you. It's

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not that somebody told them, "You

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have to say hello to all the customers,

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say hello to all the guests." Right? You

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actually feel that they care. Now, in

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their lobby, they have a coffee stand. And,

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one afternoon, I went to buy a cup of

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coffee, and there was a barista by the

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name of Noah who was serving me. Noah was

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fantastic. He was friendly and fun, and he

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was engaging with me, and I had so much

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fun buying a cup of coffee, I actually

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think I gave a 100% tip. Right?

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He was wonderful. So, as is my nature, I

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asked Noah, "Do you like your job?" And

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without skipping a beat, Noah says, "I love

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my job." And so I followed up, I said, "What

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is it that the Four Seasons is doing

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that would make you say to me, 'I love my

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job?'" And without skipping a beat, Noah

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said, "Throughout the day, managers will

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walk past me and ask me how I'm doing, if

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there's anything that I need to do my

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job better." He said, "Not just my manager,

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any manager." And then he said something

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magical. He says, "I also work at Caesar's

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Palace." And at Caesar's Palace,

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the managers are trying to make sure

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we're doing everything right. They catch

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us when we do things wrong. He says, "When

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I go to work there, I like to keep my

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head under the radar and just get

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through the day so I can get my paycheck."

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He says, "Here at the Four Seasons, I feel

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I can be myself." Same person, entirely

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different experience from the

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customer who will engage with Noah. So, we

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in leadership are always criticizing the

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people. We're always saying, "We've got to get

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the right people on the bus.

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I've got to fill my team. I've got to

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get the right people." But the reality is,

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it's not the people. It's the leadership.

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If we create the right environment, we

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will get people like Noah at the Four

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Seasons. If we create the wrong

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environment, we will get people like Noah

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at Caesar's Palace. It's not the people.

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And yet, we're so quick to hire and fire.

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You can't hire and fire your children. If

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your kids are struggling, we

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don't say, "You got a C at school,

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you're up for adoption." So why is it that

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when somebody has performance problems

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at work, why is it that our instinct is

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to say, "You're out?" We do not practice

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empathy. What does empathy look like?

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Here's the lack of empathy. This is

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normal in our business world. You walk

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into someone's office, someone walks into

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our office and says, "Your numbers have

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been down for the third quarter in a row.

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You have to pick up your numbers,

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otherwise I can't guarantee what the

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future will look like." How inspired do you

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think that person is to come to work the

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next day? Here's what empathy looks like.

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You walk into someone's office, someone

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walks into your office and says, "Your

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numbers are down for the third quarter

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in a row. Are you okay? I'm worried about

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you.

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What's going on?" We all have performance

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issues. Maybe someone's kid is sick, maybe

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they're having problems in their

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marriage, maybe one of their parents is

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dying. We don't know what's going on in

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their lives. And of course, it will affect

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performance at work. Empathy is being

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concerned about the human being, not just

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their output. We have, for some reason, our

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work world has changed in the past twenty

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and thirty years. We are suffering the side

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effects of business theories left over

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from the '80s and '90s. And they are bad

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for people, and they are bad for business.

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Let me give you an example. The concept

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of shareholder supremacy was a theory

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proposed in the late 1970s. It was

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popularized in the '80s and '90s. It is now

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standard form today. You talk to any

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public company, and you ask them their

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priority, and they say, "Maximize

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shareholder value."

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Really? That's like a coach prioritizing

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the needs of the fans over the needs of

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the players. How are you going to build a

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winning team with that model? But that's

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normal today. We don't even perceive it

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as broken or damaged or wrong or

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outdated. Remember, the '80s and '90s were

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boom years with relative peace and a

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kinder, gentler cold war. Nobody was

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practicing hiding under their desks in

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school anymore. We are no longer in those

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times. These are no longer boom years.

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These are no longer peaceful times, and

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those models cannot work today.

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Here's another one: mass layoffs--using

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someone's livelihood to balance the

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books. Right? It's so normal in America

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today that we don't even understand how

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broken and how damaging it is, not only

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to human beings but to business. You know,

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companies talk about how they want to

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build trust and cooperation, and then they

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announce a round of layoffs. Do you know

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the quickest way to destroy trust and

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destroy cooperation in a business--

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literally in one day? Lay people off. And

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everyone gets scared. Right? Can you

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imagine sending someone home to say,

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"Honey, I can no longer provide for our

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family because the company missed its

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arbitrary projections this year?" And

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forget about the people who lost their

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jobs--think about the people who kept

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their jobs. Because every single decision

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a company makes is a piece of

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communication. And the company

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has just communicated to

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everybody else: This is not a meritocracy.

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We don't care how hard you work or how

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long you've worked here. If we miss our

265
00:10:39,550 --> 00:10:41,199
numbers and you happen to fall on the

266
00:10:41,199 --> 00:10:44,290
wrong side of the spreadsheet, I'm sorry,

267
00:10:44,290 --> 00:10:46,420
we cannot guarantee employment. In other

268
00:10:46,420 --> 00:10:48,490
words, we come to work every day afraid.

269
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And we're asking our youngest generation

270
00:10:51,579 --> 00:10:53,470
to work in environments where how would

271
00:10:53,470 --> 00:10:56,110
any of us ever stand up and admit, "I made

272
00:10:56,110 --> 00:10:58,480
a mistake." We're constantly being told,

273
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,310
"You have to be vulnerable. Leaders are

274
00:11:00,310 --> 00:11:02,079
vulnerable." What does that even mean? It

275
00:11:02,079 --> 00:11:03,950
doesn't mean you walk around crying, "I'm

276
00:11:03,950 --> 00:11:07,820
vulnerable," right? No. What vulnerability

277
00:11:07,820 --> 00:11:09,290
means is you create an environment in

278
00:11:09,290 --> 00:11:11,810
which someone feels safe enough to raise

279
00:11:11,810 --> 00:11:14,120
their hand and say, "I don't know what

280
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:14,840
I'm doing.

281
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,030
You've given me a job, and I haven't been

282
00:11:17,030 --> 00:11:20,420
trained to do it. I need help. I made a

283
00:11:20,420 --> 00:11:23,930
mistake. I screwed something up. I'm

284
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scared.

285
00:11:24,710 --> 00:11:27,440
I'm worried." All of these things no one

286
00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,390
would ever admit inside a company

287
00:11:29,390 --> 00:11:31,310
because it puts a target on your head in

288
00:11:31,310 --> 00:11:33,950
case there's another round. And so, we

289
00:11:33,950 --> 00:11:35,600
keep it to ourselves. And how can a

290
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:37,760
company ever do well if nobody's ever

291
00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:38,870
willing to a,dmit they made a mistake

292
00:11:38,870 --> 00:11:40,460
that they're scared, or they don't know what

293
00:11:40,460 --> 00:11:42,140
they're doing? And so, we've literally

294
00:11:42,140 --> 00:11:43,730
created cultures in which every single

295
00:11:43,730 --> 00:11:45,320
day, everybody comes to work and

296
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,130
lies, hides, and fakes. And we're asking

297
00:11:49,130 --> 00:11:51,740
our youngest generation to work and

298
00:11:51,740 --> 00:11:54,170
succeed and find themselves and build

299
00:11:54,170 --> 00:11:56,330
their confidence and overcome their

300
00:11:56,330 --> 00:11:58,520
addiction to technology and build strong

301
00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:00,590
relationships at work. We're asking to do

302
00:12:00,590 --> 00:12:01,850
this, and these are the environments we've

303
00:12:01,850 --> 00:12:04,550
created. We keep saying to them, "You're

304
00:12:04,550 --> 00:12:08,680
the future leaders. We're the leaders now.

305
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:14,660
We're in control." What are we doing? This

306
00:12:14,660 --> 00:12:17,210
is what empathy means: it means if

307
00:12:17,210 --> 00:12:19,520
there's an entire generation struggling,

308
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,580
maybe it's not them. It's like, you know,

309
00:12:22,580 --> 00:12:25,040
the only thing that I, that, the common

310
00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,620
factor in all my failed relationships? Me.

311
00:12:29,620 --> 00:12:32,480
Same thing. "Well, we just can't get the

312
00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:33,440
right, you know, the right

313
00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,390
performance out of our people." Maybe it's

314
00:12:35,390 --> 00:12:39,560
you. Right? It's not a generation. It's not

315
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:41,930
them. They're not difficult or hard to

316
00:12:41,930 --> 00:12:44,330
understand. They're human beings like the

317
00:12:44,330 --> 00:12:45,980
rest of us, trying to find their way,

318
00:12:45,980 --> 00:12:48,260
trying to work in a place where they

319
00:12:48,260 --> 00:12:50,750
feel that someone cares about them as a

320
00:12:50,750 --> 00:12:53,840
human being. By the way, that's what we

321
00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,110
all want. In other words, it's not even

322
00:12:57,110 --> 00:13:01,040
generational. It's all of us. This is the

323
00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:02,840
practice of empathy. That if we're

324
00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:04,910
struggling to communicate to someone, if

325
00:13:04,910 --> 00:13:06,890
we're struggling to help someone be at

326
00:13:06,890 --> 00:13:09,140
their natural best, I'm tired of people

327
00:13:09,140 --> 00:13:10,610
saying to me, "How do I get the best out

328
00:13:10,610 --> 00:13:12,050
of my people?" Really? That's what you want?

329
00:13:12,050 --> 00:13:13,880
They're like a towel, you just wring them? "How can

330
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,880
I get the most out of them?"

331
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,530
No. How do I help my people be at their

332
00:13:18,530 --> 00:13:21,680
natural best? Right? We're not asking

333
00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:22,760
these questions. We're not practicing

334
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:23,330
empathy.

335
00:13:23,330 --> 00:13:25,250
We have to start by practicing empathy

336
00:13:25,250 --> 00:13:27,410
and relate to what they may be going

337
00:13:27,410 --> 00:13:29,240
through, and it will profoundly change

338
00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:30,710
the decisions we make; it will profoundly

339
00:13:30,710 --> 00:13:34,300
change the way we see the world.

340
00:13:34,300 --> 00:13:37,190
Someone's driving to work, you're driving

341
00:13:37,190 --> 00:13:39,020
to work, and someone wants to cut into

342
00:13:39,020 --> 00:13:41,180
your lane. What do you do? If you pull

343
00:13:41,180 --> 00:13:44,150
your car up, would you let them in? Most

344
00:13:44,150 --> 00:13:45,680
of us pull our cars up and go like this,

345
00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:49,100
"You wait your turn." Now, let's practice

346
00:13:49,100 --> 00:13:50,600
empathy. I don't know, maybe they've been

347
00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:52,040
out of work for six months. Maybe they

348
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:53,300
had trouble getting the kids out to

349
00:13:53,300 --> 00:13:54,410
school this morning, and now they're

350
00:13:54,410 --> 00:13:56,180
running late for a really important

351
00:13:56,180 --> 00:13:57,680
interview, and they just have to get to

352
00:13:57,680 --> 00:13:58,910
this interview, and they're going to cut

353
00:13:58,910 --> 00:14:01,580
into our lane. Or maybe they're just a

354
00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:07,070
bastard, I don't know. But that's the

355
00:14:07,070 --> 00:14:11,030
point. We don't know. We don't know. And

356
00:14:11,030 --> 00:14:13,370
the practice of empathy will say, "I'll

357
00:14:13,370 --> 00:14:17,060
let them in, and I'll arrive to work one

358
00:14:17,060 --> 00:14:20,840
car length late." Right? We don't always

359
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,660
have to be right. We do always have to be

360
00:14:23,660 --> 00:14:25,910
in charge. We don't have to be the one

361
00:14:25,910 --> 00:14:27,920
who succeeds. It's not about winning or

362
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,290
losing. And that's where I go to the

363
00:14:30,290 --> 00:14:33,490
second point. After empathy comes

364
00:14:33,490 --> 00:14:36,350
perspective, where it's not about winning

365
00:14:36,350 --> 00:14:41,240
or losing. In game theory, there are two

366
00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,340
kinds of games. There are finite games

367
00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:45,890
and there are infinite games. And this is

368
00:14:45,890 --> 00:14:47,230
how you're going to change your perspective.

369
00:14:47,230 --> 00:14:51,110
Right? A finite game is defined as known

370
00:14:51,110 --> 00:14:54,200
players, fixed rules, and an agreed-upon

371
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,160
objective. Baseball, for example, we know

372
00:14:58,160 --> 00:14:59,690
the rules, we all agree to the rules, and

373
00:14:59,690 --> 00:15:01,790
whoever has more runs at the end of nine

374
00:15:01,790 --> 00:15:03,350
innings is the winner, and the game is

375
00:15:03,350 --> 00:15:05,210
over. No one ever says, "If we can just

376
00:15:05,210 --> 00:15:06,680
play two more innings, I know we can come

377
00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,470
back." Doesn't work that way. The game is

378
00:15:09,470 --> 00:15:12,560
over. Right? That's a finite game. Then you

379
00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,110
have an infinite game. Infinite games are

380
00:15:15,110 --> 00:15:18,800
defined as known and unknown players, the

381
00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,710
rules are changeable, and the objective

382
00:15:21,710 --> 00:15:24,170
is to keep the game in play, to

383
00:15:24,170 --> 00:15:26,990
perpetuate the game. When you pit a

384
00:15:26,990 --> 00:15:28,790
finite player versus a finite player,

385
00:15:28,790 --> 00:15:30,920
this system is stable.

386
00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,910
Baseball is stable. Right? When you pit an

387
00:15:34,910 --> 00:15:36,710
infinite player versus an

388
00:15:36,710 --> 00:15:38,660
infinite player, this system is also

389
00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:40,760
stable, like the Cold War, for example,

390
00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:42,890
because there cannot be a winner and a

391
00:15:42,890 --> 00:15:44,600
loser, there are no winners and losers in

392
00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,850
an infinite game. Right? It doesn't exist.

393
00:15:46,850 --> 00:15:48,650
And because there are no winners or

394
00:15:48,650 --> 00:15:50,210
losers, what ends up happening in the

395
00:15:50,210 --> 00:15:52,640
infinite contest is players drop out

396
00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:54,830
when they run out of the will or the

397
00:15:54,830 --> 00:15:57,230
resources to play. But there's no winners

398
00:15:57,230 --> 00:16:01,220
or losers. Problems arise when you pit a

399
00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:03,110
finite player versus an infinite player.

400
00:16:03,110 --> 00:16:05,000
Because the finite player is playing to

401
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,460
win, and an infinite player is to playing

402
00:16:07,460 --> 00:16:09,830
to keep the game going. Right? This is

403
00:16:09,830 --> 00:16:11,720
what happened to us in Vietnam. We were

404
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,030
playing to win, and the Vietnamese were

405
00:16:14,030 --> 00:16:16,340
fighting for their lives. We were the

406
00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:18,140
ones who got stuck in quagmire. This was

407
00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:20,180
the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. They

408
00:16:20,180 --> 00:16:22,130
were trying to beat the mujahideen, and

409
00:16:22,130 --> 00:16:23,690
the mujahideen would fight for as long

410
00:16:23,690 --> 00:16:27,170
as necessary. Quagmire. Now, let's look

411
00:16:27,170 --> 00:16:31,130
at business. The game of business has

412
00:16:31,130 --> 00:16:32,960
preexisted or has existed long before

413
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,030
every single company that exists on this

414
00:16:35,030 --> 00:16:38,480
planet today. And it will outlast every

415
00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,370
single company that exists

416
00:16:40,370 --> 00:16:42,920
on this planet today. There's no winning

417
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,290
the game of business. And the reason is

418
00:16:45,290 --> 00:16:46,820
is because we haven't agreed to the

419
00:16:46,820 --> 00:16:49,850
rules. I get such a kick out of this. You

420
00:16:49,850 --> 00:16:51,470
realize how many companies actually

421
00:16:51,470 --> 00:16:53,720
don't know the game they're in. Right?

422
00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:55,040
Listen to the language that the companies

423
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:56,750
use. "We're trying to beat our competition."

424
00:16:56,750 --> 00:16:59,300
"We're trying to be number one." Did you

425
00:16:59,300 --> 00:17:00,980
know that we were ranked number one? Look

426
00:17:00,980 --> 00:17:03,339
at the listing. Based on what criteria?

427
00:17:03,339 --> 00:17:05,959
Revenues? Profits? Market share? Square

428
00:17:05,959 --> 00:17:08,030
footage? Number of employees? Based on

429
00:17:08,030 --> 00:17:09,920
what time frame? A quarter? A year? Five

430
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:11,689
years? Ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years? A hundred

431
00:17:11,689 --> 00:17:13,310
years? I haven't agreed to those

432
00:17:13,310 --> 00:17:15,140
standards. How can you declare yourself

433
00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:15,980
the winner?

434
00:17:15,980 --> 00:17:17,720
How can you declare yourself number one

435
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,579
where no one else in the game has agreed

436
00:17:19,579 --> 00:17:23,630
to the rules? It's arbitrary. There is no

437
00:17:23,630 --> 00:17:27,230
winning because there's no end. In other

438
00:17:27,230 --> 00:17:29,720
words, companies are playing finite games.

439
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:31,820
Listen to their language. They're trying

440
00:17:31,820 --> 00:17:33,710
to beat their competition. What does that

441
00:17:33,710 --> 00:17:37,280
even mean? It's the leaders and the

442
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:38,840
companies that understand the game that

443
00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:40,550
they're in and organize their resources

444
00:17:40,550 --> 00:17:42,120
and their decision-making around

445
00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,630
the infinite contest that outlast and

446
00:17:44,630 --> 00:17:47,940
frustrate their competition. All the

447
00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:49,470
companies that we've referred to as the

448
00:17:49,470 --> 00:17:52,500
exceptions--Southwest Airlines, Apple

449
00:17:52,500 --> 00:17:55,290
Computers, Harley Davidson--they're the

450
00:17:55,290 --> 00:17:57,360
exception. No. They're playing the

451
00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,910
infinite contest. They frustrate their

452
00:17:59,910 --> 00:18:03,150
competition is what happens. That's what

453
00:18:03,150 --> 00:18:04,440
happens because they're not playing to

454
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:05,450
win.

455
00:18:05,450 --> 00:18:08,520
Jim Senegal, the founder of Costco, which

456
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,050
is the only real company that

457
00:18:10,050 --> 00:18:11,490
gives Walmart a run for its money.

458
00:18:11,490 --> 00:18:13,940
He says, "Public companies are looking to

459
00:18:13,940 --> 00:18:15,870
succeed for the quarter." He says, "We're

460
00:18:15,870 --> 00:18:17,400
looking for the next fifty years." You can

461
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:18,870
hear him. He's playing the infinite

462
00:18:18,870 --> 00:18:22,610
contest. I spoke at a leadership summit

463
00:18:22,610 --> 00:18:25,890
for Microsoft. I also spoke at a

464
00:18:25,890 --> 00:18:28,740
leadership summit for Apple. Now, at the

465
00:18:28,740 --> 00:18:31,140
Microsoft summit, I would say 70% of the

466
00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:33,030
executives, and this was under the Steve

467
00:18:33,030 --> 00:18:35,429
Ballmer days, I would say about 70% of

468
00:18:35,429 --> 00:18:38,220
the executives spent about 70% of their

469
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:40,830
presentations talking about how to beat

470
00:18:40,830 --> 00:18:45,720
Apple. At the Apple summit, a 100%

471
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,429
of the executives spent a

472
00:18:47,429 --> 00:18:48,870
100% of their presentations

473
00:18:48,870 --> 00:18:51,030
talking about how to help teachers teach

474
00:18:51,030 --> 00:18:53,700
and how to help students learn. One was

475
00:18:53,700 --> 00:18:56,010
obsessed with their competition, the

476
00:18:56,010 --> 00:18:57,390
other one was obsessed with where

477
00:18:57,390 --> 00:18:59,550
they're going. So at the end of my

478
00:18:59,550 --> 00:19:03,120
presentation at Microsoft, they gave me a

479
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,370
gift. They gave me the new Zune, which was

480
00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:07,230
the competitor to the iPod Touch when it

481
00:19:07,230 --> 00:19:09,450
was a thing. Right? And I have to tell you,

482
00:19:09,450 --> 00:19:12,320
this piece of technology was spectacular.

483
00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,540
It was beautiful. The user interface was

484
00:19:15,540 --> 00:19:18,000
incredible. The design was amazing. It was

485
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,220
intuitive. It was one of the most

486
00:19:20,220 --> 00:19:21,840
beautiful, elegant pieces of technology

487
00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,390
I'd ever seen. Right? Now, they didn't work

488
00:19:24,390 --> 00:19:25,710
with iTunes, which is an entirely

489
00:19:25,710 --> 00:19:28,211
different problem. I couldn't use it.

490
00:19:28,211 --> 00:19:30,980
[Audience laughing].

491
00:19:30,980 --> 00:19:36,450
But that's something else. I'm sitting in

492
00:19:36,450 --> 00:19:38,370
the back of a taxi with a senior Apple

493
00:19:38,370 --> 00:19:40,169
executive, sort of employee number 12

494
00:19:40,169 --> 00:19:43,730
kind of guy, and I decide to stir the pot.

495
00:19:43,730 --> 00:19:48,390
And I turn to him and I say, "You know, I spoke

496
00:19:48,390 --> 00:19:50,820
at a Microsoft summit, and they gave me

497
00:19:50,820 --> 00:19:53,520
their new Zune, and I have to tell you, it

498
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,590
is so much better than your iPod Touch."

499
00:19:57,590 --> 00:20:01,890
And he turned to me and said, "I have no

500
00:20:01,890 --> 00:20:04,683
doubt." Conversation over.

501
00:20:04,683 --> 00:20:10,020
[Audience laughing].

502
00:20:10,020 --> 00:20:13,530
Because the infinite player isn't playing to be

503
00:20:13,530 --> 00:20:16,169
number one every day with every product.

504
00:20:16,169 --> 00:20:18,030
They're playing to outlast the

505
00:20:18,030 --> 00:20:20,190
competition. If I had said to Microsoft,

506
00:20:20,190 --> 00:20:21,600
"Oh, I've got the new iPod Touch, it's so

507
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:22,890
much better than your new Zune," they would have said,

508
00:20:22,890 --> 00:20:24,480
"Can we see it? What does it do? How--We

509
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:26,789
have to see it." Because one is obsessed

510
00:20:26,789 --> 00:20:28,260
with their competition, the other is

511
00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:30,000
obsessed with why they do what they do,

512
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,890
the other is obsessed with where they're

513
00:20:31,890 --> 00:20:34,380
going. And the reason Apple frustrates

514
00:20:34,380 --> 00:20:35,970
their competition is because secretly,

515
00:20:35,970 --> 00:20:38,159
they're not even competing against them.

516
00:20:38,159 --> 00:20:40,590
They're competing against themselves. And

517
00:20:40,590 --> 00:20:43,470
they understand that sometimes you're a

518
00:20:43,470 --> 00:20:45,480
little bit ahead, and sometimes you're a

519
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,520
little bit behind. And sometimes your

520
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,770
product is better, and sometimes you're

521
00:20:49,770 --> 00:20:51,929
not. But if you wake up every single

522
00:20:51,929 --> 00:20:54,929
morning and compete against yourself, how

523
00:20:54,929 --> 00:20:56,730
do I make our products better than they

524
00:20:56,730 --> 00:20:58,679
were yesterday? How do I take care of our

525
00:20:58,679 --> 00:21:00,150
customers better than we did yesterday?

526
00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:02,250
How do we advance our cause more

527
00:21:02,250 --> 00:21:05,010
efficiently, more productively than we

528
00:21:05,010 --> 00:21:06,690
did yesterday? How do we find new

529
00:21:06,690 --> 00:21:08,880
solutions to advance our calling, our

530
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:10,830
cause, our purpose, our beliefs, our why

531
00:21:10,830 --> 00:21:12,870
every single day? What you'll find is,

532
00:21:12,870 --> 00:21:16,950
over time, you will probably be ahead

533
00:21:16,950 --> 00:21:19,230
more often. Those who play the infinite

534
00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:20,760
game understand it's not about the

535
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,880
battle, it's about the war. And they don't

536
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,480
play to win every day, and they frustrate

537
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:29,010
their competition until their

538
00:21:29,010 --> 00:21:31,200
competition drops out of the game. Every

539
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,210
single bankruptcy, almost every merger

540
00:21:33,210 --> 00:21:35,130
and acquisition is basically a company

541
00:21:35,130 --> 00:21:36,720
saying, "We no longer have the will or the

542
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,549
resources to continue to play, and we

543
00:21:38,549 --> 00:21:39,990
have no choice but to either drop out of the

544
00:21:39,990 --> 00:21:40,809
game or

545
00:21:40,809 --> 00:21:42,519
or merge our resources with another

546
00:21:42,519 --> 00:21:44,259
player so that we can stay in the game."

547
00:21:44,259 --> 00:21:46,570
That's what that is. And if you think

548
00:21:46,570 --> 00:21:47,769
about the number of bankruptcies and

549
00:21:47,769 --> 00:21:49,539
mergers and acquisitions, it's kind of

550
00:21:49,539 --> 00:21:51,669
proof that most companies don't even

551
00:21:51,669 --> 00:21:54,309
know the game they're in. You want to be

552
00:21:54,309 --> 00:21:56,259
a great leader? Start with empathy. You

553
00:21:56,259 --> 00:21:58,899
want to be a great leader? Change your

554
00:21:58,899 --> 00:22:01,149
perspective and play the game you're

555
00:22:01,149 --> 00:22:05,029
actually playing. Thank you very much.

556
00:22:05,029 --> 00:22:08,199
[Applause]