The Boss Game: Power and Hierarchy Inside Every Alliance
What Is the Boss Game?
Inside every Positive-Sum Game, someone makes the decisions. Someone is at the top of the hierarchy. Someone is the boss.
A Boss Game is a Zero-Sum Game fought over who gets to be that person. It's not a fight over whether the group survives - both sides want the group to continue. It's a fight over who runs it.
This is the game most people don't see. They see the alliance. They see the partnership. They see the cooperation. What they miss is the contest happening inside it - the contest over who makes the decisions.
How It Works
Every Positive-Sum Game has a hierarchy. A company has a CEO. A country has a president. A team has a leader. Someone makes the important decisions for the group.
Usually, people accept the hierarchy. They follow the boss's decisions because everyone benefits. It's a win-win.
But sometimes, people want a different boss. A better boss. Someone who makes different decisions. When that happens, you get a Boss Game.
The key feature of a Boss Game is restraint. Both sides hold back. They don't want to destroy the larger Positive-Sum Game - they just want to change who's in charge. The Egyptian protesters during the Arab Spring didn't want to destroy Egypt. They wanted Egypt to stay Egypt. They just wanted a different boss.
Which meant they held back. They avoided bloodshed. They didn't throw as many rocks as they could have. They didn't shoot as many rockets as they could have. They didn't kill as many policemen as they could have.
But Boss Games can spiral. What starts as a contest over who decides can become a civil war. Or a genocide. When restraint breaks down, when both sides stop holding back, the Boss Game becomes one of the first two types of Zero-Sum Game - and those end with one side destroyed or both sides fighting forever.
Example From the Field
In A Spy's Guide to Strategy, Braddock describes a conflict with his boss at the CIA over how to handle a lying source. His boss wanted another face-to-face meeting. Braddock said no - the source was dangerous and unpredictable.
Neither wanted to destroy their working relationship. Both wanted the Positive-Sum Game to continue. But one of them would make the decision in this case. The other wouldn't. One would win. One would lose.
That's a Boss Game. A Zero-Sum Game over who makes a decision, inside a larger Positive-Sum Game both sides want to preserve.
Braddock held back. His boss held back. They escalated to the Chief - a higher authority in the hierarchy - rather than destroy their relationship. The Boss Game resolved peacefully, as most do.
Why It Matters
Boss Games explain behavior that looks irrational from the outside. Bin Laden didn't just want a Caliphate - he wanted to be Caliph. That distinction drove his entire strategy, including his decision to attack the world's only superpower. The Boss Game inside his Endgame shaped everything.
When someone's behavior doesn't match their stated goals, look for the Boss Game. Ask not just what they want at the end, but where they want to sit inside that Endgame.
How to Apply It
- Identify the Positive-Sum Game. What's the group, alliance, or partnership? Who benefits from it continuing?
- Find the hierarchy. Who makes the decisions? Who's the boss? Is there more than one hierarchy for different types of decisions?
- Watch for the contest. Is someone trying to change the hierarchy? Do they want a different boss? Do they want to be the boss?
- Gauge the restraint. Are both sides holding back? If so, the Boss Game will likely resolve peacefully. If restraint is breaking down, the Boss Game may spiral into something worse.
- Look for the Boss Game inside the Endgame. When someone's strategy seems irrational, ask where they want to sit in the hierarchy of their Endgame. The Boss Game often explains the moves that nothing else can.