What "Infinite Game" is fueling your dealership

Before we get started - a quick favor to ask: Could you please share this with others in your dealership, 20 group, or other professional network if it could be of value to them?

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Are You Playing to Win or Playing to Keep Playing?

There’s an idea that will either mess with your head or set you free: business isn’t a game you win—it’s a game you keep playing.

Simon Sinek calls it The Infinite Game. Most people, however, are playing a very finite game. They act like there’s a scoreboard, a buzzer at the end of the quarter, and a trophy waiting for them in the breakroom. Except… that’s not how business works. Especially not in the dealership world.

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When was the last time a dealership put up a banner saying, “We did it! We won car sales. We’re done now.” Doesn’t happen. Because the moment you think you’ve won, someone else is coming for your customers, your employees, your process, your innovation.

So, let’s ask some uncomfortable but essential questions:

• Are you thinking in terms of beating the competition, or are you thinking about how to outlast them?
  

  • What would happen if you stopped worrying about what the dealership down the road is doing and focused solely on being the best version of your dealership?

  • Why do you believe winning against a competitor is the ultimate goal? Who really benefits from that mindset?

  • How would your customer experience change if your goal wasn’t just to outsell someone else, but to build a dealership that people want to return to for years?

• Are you optimizing for short-term profits, or are you building a brand that customers and employees want to be loyal to for decades?
  

  • What if your short-term push for gross actually cost you more in lost repeat business?

  • Why would a customer—or an employee—choose to commit to your dealership for the long haul?

  • How do you balance immediate financial needs with a reputation that sustains success over years, not months?

• Are you measuring success in end-of-month bonuses, or are you creating something that grows beyond a single pay period?
  

  • What if you had to measure success in five-year increments instead of 30-day cycles—what would you do differently?

  • Why do you think short-term incentives drive long-term success?

  • How would your dealership look in 10 years if you prioritized sustainable growth over immediate gains?

If you’re in leadership at a dealership, this is the question: Are you playing a finite game—where you’ll burn out your team, squeeze every deal dry, and then scramble to survive next quarter—or are you playing the long game, where you invest in the people and processes that will keep you in business for generations?

The Leaders Who Get It

Some of the greatest business minds of today understand The Infinite Game instinctively:

• Jeff Bezos (Amazon) never set out to “win” e-commerce; he set out to create a system that keeps customers coming back indefinitely. His obsession with long-term thinking means he reinvested in Amazon when most would have cashed out. Where’s Amazon now? Everywhere.

• Danny Meyer (Shake Shack, Union Square Hospitality) didn’t create a burger joint just to flip patties; he played the long game with Hospitality First, making every customer feel like they belonged. As a result, his business thrives in a cutthroat industry where most restaurants fold in five years.

How does this apply to you?

• If you’re a sales consultant, are you grinding every deal to maximize commission today, or are you building relationships that will bring you repeat buyers and referrals for years?

• If you’re a service advisor, are you upselling aggressively to hit targets, or are you advising customers in a way that makes them trust you (and come back)?

• If you’re a sales manager, are you setting goals that make your team chase numbers at all costs, or are you developing a team that wants to stay and grow with you?

• If you’re a dealer principal, are you slashing expenses to improve this quarter’s bottom line, or are you reinvesting in brand, training, and service so that you’re dominant in a decade?

The Benefits of Playing an Infinite Game

Here’s the real magic of shifting your mindset: The Infinite Game players end up winning more anyway. The short-term thinkers might seem ahead for a while—hustling harder, cutting corners, making flashy moves—but the long-term players own the market in the end.

• Customers trust businesses that prioritize them over the long haul.

• Employees stay with leaders who invest in their development and treat them like partners, not disposable assets.

• Brands that consistently provide value don’t have to compete on price—they command loyalty.

The dealerships that thrive long-term aren’t necessarily the ones that sell the most cars today. They’re the ones who create systems, cultures, and customer experiences that make it impossible for people to go anywhere else.

Your Move: What’s Your Infinite Play?

So, let’s make this real. Think about your daily decisions in the dealership. Are they leading you toward an infinite dealership model—one where customers, employees, and leadership all want to stay engaged for the long run?

• What’s one change you can make today that shifts your thinking from winning today to building for tomorrow?
  

  • What’s stopping you from making that change right now?

  • What excuses are you giving yourself that keep you stuck in short-term thinking?

• Who on your team do you need to develop, rather than just demanding results from?
  

  • What if they had the potential to be your best performer in three years—but you burn them out before they ever get there?

  • How are you setting them up for long-term success?

• How are you making your dealership the place people want to return to—whether as customers or employees?
  

  • If your best employee got a job offer today, what would make them stay?

  • If your best customer was tempted to buy from another dealership, what would make them come back to you?

The choice is yours. You can play to win today and risk burning out—or you can play to keep playing and build a business that outlasts everyone else.

The best in the business know: the real game never ends.

Now, what game are you playing?

Three Quotes to Keep You Thinking:

1. “The goal is not to beat your competition, but to outlast them.” – Simon Sinek

2. “Long-term thinking is a requirement for long-term success.” – Jeff Bezos

3. “Goodwill is like the compound interest of business.” – Charlie Munger

The Car Stoic: Epictetus on The Infinite Game

Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who knew a thing or two about playing the long game, once said, 'Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.'

In the dealership world, playing an infinite game means accepting that you can’t control market fluctuations, interest rates, or what the dealership down the road does. But you can control how you build relationships, how you lead, and how you play the game long enough to win in the end.

Keep playing. Keep building. And let the short-term thinkers burn out while you’re still standing.

-Dealers Leaders

Now, about that favor… could you please share this with others in your dealership, group, or professional network if it could be of value to them? Our infinite game is to provide smart, busy leaders with a healthy “info diet” to drive growth. Thank you!