Establish a just cause 

I’m not one to read business, leadership, or self-improvement books, typically favoring fiction or, as my wife says, “books about baseball.”

But I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I sped through Simon Sinek’s “The Infinite Game.” While the ideas are wide and the examples relatively niche, Sinek writes in a way that’s easy to follow and relatable for people in various industries, roles, and stages of life.

The idea of the book is simple: The most successful long-term businesses play an infinite game by avoiding a finite mindset and distractions such as shareholder supremacy and short-term profit. 

To succeed in the infinite game, Sinek believes businesses must establish a just cause, which he defines as “a specific vision of an ideal state of the future that inspires people.”

The credit union movement already has its just cause—financial well-being for all. However, it’s not enough to just establish a cause. 

Credit unions must keep financial well-being for all at the forefront of everything they do. That builds trust with consumers, who seek out companies that live by a just cause matching their own value system.

Another Sinek idea that’s relevant to the credit union movement is that of “worthy rivals.” If credit unions and banks view each other as worthy rivals instead of competitors, it offers the potential that financial institutions can work for the common good and make each other better in the infinite game. 

If the entire financial services landscape improves, so do credit unions. Credit unions continuing to improve and pursue their goal of financial well-being for all is how the movement sticks around to play the infinite game.

BROCK FRITZ, assistant editor, Credit Union National Association.

NEXT: Ancient lessons