In his best-selling book, The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek defines Infinite Games as having:
🔄 Changing Rules: Rules can evolve during the game.
🕵️♂️ Known and Unknown Players: New players can join, and some may leave at any time.
⏳ No Clear Endpoint: The game goes on indefinitely with no fixed end.
🎯 Objective: The primary aim is to perpetuate the game, not to win.
These principles have intriguing parallels with Police Use of Force.
▪ Changing Rules
Officers must make rapid tactical decisions. Do the Priorities of Life imply they intervene immediately or contain the situation to buy time? Officers must consider changing the course of action should the situation or the “Rules” change and adapt not only their response but also the timeliness of it. A cooperative arrest can quickly escalate to a deadly force encounter, requiring officers to adjust their proportionality of force accordingly.
▪ Known and Unknown Players
Police often respond to ambiguous situations. They must assess threats rapidly while being ready for “New Players”—suspects, bystanders, or other officers—who can impact the situation positively, negatively, or neutrally.
▪ No Clear Endpoint
Does the use of force end when the cuffs are on? What about treating injuries, or if resistance continues beyond cuffing? If the “Rules” can change and “New Players” can enter, then the “Endpoint” is not only unique to every situation, but is also fluid and can change at any time.
▪ Objective
“The goal of police use of force is to ensure public safety…”
An unachievable goal in The Infinite Game is called a "Just Cause" - an appealing and inspiring vision for the future that motivates people to pursue it, even if it may never be fully realized. When is public safety actually ensured? Perhaps that is when police will no longer need to use force.
Are you an instructor in this field?
How do you promote tactical decision-making and the right mindset for this complex and dynamic topic?
#Leadership #InfiniteGame #LawEnforcement #PublicSafety #TacticalDecisionMaking
