Been doing a bit of research and readings on the topic, to prepare some improvements on the way the company takes strategic decisions.

I’ve been listening the audio version of the book “Playing to Win” and found also this short article that captures the essence of what normally happens, not only in organizations, but also at a personal level, I would say.

It’s the difference between Playin to Win and Playing Not to Lose.

Playing Not to Lose

If you are playing to “not lose:

  • you’re cautious. Probably overly-cautious.
  • You want to avoid mistakes, so you hold back.
  • Instead of doing what you know you need to do, you wait to react.
  • Instead of using all of your power to tilt things in your direction, you wait.
  • You don’t make the call to your dream client because they said they needed time to think things over.
  • You avoid talking about your price because you worry that your prospect will say it’s too high.
  • You don’t act because you are fearful that anything you do will put yourdeal at risk.

Playing to Win

If you are playing to win:

  • you do whatever is necessary to move things forward.
  • You aggressively try to put points on the board.
  • You’re not reckless, but you’re certainly not passive.

When youplay to win:

  • you make the call that you fear.
  • You have the difficult conversation.
  • You deal with the tricky issues that may put your outcomes at risk if things go south on you.