Concept
Long-term games
Long-term games, in Naval Ravikant's phrase, are relationships, careers and investments you commit to for years with people who are also in it for years, so that trust, skill and returns can compound instead of being reset at every deal.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant argues that most of the big returns in life, whether in money, knowledge or relationships, come from compounding, and compounding needs time without interruption. Short-term games reward squeezing the other side, because you will never meet them again. Long-term games reward the opposite: being reliable, honest and generous, because your reputation and relationships are the asset that keeps growing. Naval's advice is to choose partners, colleagues and investments as if you will be with them for a very long time, and to walk away early from people who play short-term. The idea overlaps with compound interest in investing and with research in game theory showing that cooperation becomes rational when interactions repeat. Its limit is that a long game needs a base to stand on: someone in debt or without a cushion is often forced into short-term choices. Building that base first is part of playing long.
A real-life example
Murat runs a small software agency in Ankara. A client offers a large quick project if he cuts corners on security. He declines, explains why and suggests a safer, slower plan. The client goes elsewhere. Eight months later the same client returns after a breach, now trusting Murat completely, and over the next five years becomes his largest account and introduces him to three others.
How to use it
- 1Ask of each important relationship or job: would I still want this in ten years?
- 2Act in the next deal as if you will work with this person again, because you probably will.
- 3Step back early from people who keep playing short-term, even when it costs a little now.