Shane Mastro

Professor Godbey
3/10/21
Internship

The Infinite Game

The first concept that was important was the question, “What makes something a just
cause?”. To be a just cause, it needs to be for something, inclusive, service orientated, resilient
and idealistic. The is important because companies today tend to be more about power and
money and are not really looking out for their employees but themselves. Instead, the
company should be trying to use their just cause to inspire their employees to work toward
achieving the best they can for themselves and the company building to a long future. This will
affect me because like most people, I want to work for a company or employer who include the
employees and their customers in what is important for business. This will help me to choose a
company I want to work for by looking directly at their mission statements before attending an
interview and to also know what exactly I want to know about the company when searching for
a job.
In Chapter 3, the book talks about causes. Causes are very important because it shows
purpose, which is really the heart of what drives a company. Most companies make their cause
seem like checking off boxes without any purpose, which is not good. Financial growth can’t be
the cause because it is only good for the short term, not long-term success. Again, because I
want to work for a company who cares about who you are as a person and where you are not a
number but an actual person. By knowing that my employer cares and wants me to be the
best employee, it will actually boost my performance for them.
The third thing that was important was the idea of “Keeper Of The Cause”. The story
about Walmart was interesting, when talking about their campaign of “the lowest prices,
anytime, anywhere”. But in 2009 they changed their focus to more financial growth and
market shares. I am using this story is because a company may start with having a just cause
for their customers, but as leadership changes (like at Walmart), just cause is altered, isn’t as
meaningful and instead changes to hollow words. I realized that I when I purchase items I don’t
really investigate about who the companies are or how they run their businesses. Usually I just
purchase what I might see when walking through or even looking at the internet. Now I
realized I need to know more about these companies and what is important to them before I
purchase their products.
The concept of trust in Chapter 5 is important also. When the dollar becomes the key
center of a business, instead of its employees, it starts to create distrust, which can cut the
company’s business longevity down. When a worker has a lack of trust, it can cause poor
efficiency and mistakes among its workers. This will affect my actions because I want to work
for a company I can trust. By trusting my employer, it will help me be more and more
productive in my job because they believe in me and more importantly I believe in the
company.
The fifth concept that I found so important was Worthy Rivals. This is important
because you acknowledge how your worthy rivals can drive you to be better than you already
are. This mindset is very common in sports, while in businesses it is an infinite mindset where
businesses can excel off their competitors. The affects my actions in the sports I play at
Moravian because when I compete against my rivals in football and track it helps me to push
myself to places I never thought I could go, more tackles or a farther throw in the shot put. In
terms of the business world, worthy rivals will inspire me to learn new skills, push myself harder
at work to excel, and to improve what I already know.
The sixth item that I found so important was the story of Steve Jobs. This is interesting
because Apple’s Just Cause was to create computers as an empowering device for as many
people as possible. Job’s argued that for this to happen he needed these computers to include
a graphical user interface (GUI). Amid may warnings about what could happen to his company
he went ahead and added the component and four years later the first Macintosh was
produced. Because Steve Jobs realized it’s importance and was willing to take a risk his empire
was created. For me, this affected me by realizing that taking a risk in our jobs, can pay off and
lead to great benefits.
 The next item I think was interesting, was the story about Apple and The Container
Store. It is important because Apple’s leadership chose to take the brave step of treating the
retail workers the same as they were already treating their business workers. This allowed
Apple to spend less money on employment and training and to enjoy the extra advantage of
having loyal and very motivated workers providing better service to its customers. The
Container Store chose a different path. While they were looking for ways to cut some costs,
their leaders decided to put their employees first, instead of immediately letting some of them
go by firing them they offered their employees an indefinite freeze on wage increases and
matching 401K plans. This affected my thoughts after I read these stories. I was so impressed
by their decisions that clearly put their employees first, not last. They thought outside of the
box to give other options instead of job loss. This is the kind of business I want to work for.
One that works hard for their workers to keep jobs under all circumstances.
Finally, the idea of showing Courage to lead was very important. By demonstrating
their commitment to the cause and providing examples as leaders to follow, it shows
employees how to lead their companies forward, looking up to mentors and trust those already
doing it. This affected my actions in sports because the leaders are looked up to by their
teammates and can have a huge effect on them and their performance. So, I hope this will
connect to having the experience from the field to the business place and help to develop into a
leader there also.