Winning Long-Term Games

Reproducible success strategies to achieve your long-term goals

Winning Long-Term Games cover

Some reviews

"Gem upon gem of insight [...] a must-read [...] for all those who plan on being successful and who take the goal of achieving that success with the deadly, focused, and unwavering seriousness it deserves."
Avatar of Guy Spier

Guy Spier

Founder, Aquamarine Fund

"I like everything Luca has written, and this book exceeded my already high expectations. Can't wait to read it again tonight. It's that good."
Avatar of Scott Mitchell

Scott Mitchell

CEO, OCEG

"I learned very much from it! Luca's books have my highest highlight density."
Avatar of Lance Johnson

Lance Johnson

CEO, Whiteboard Geeks

"Very clear and compelling writing, which helped me develop and extend my mindset when it comes to stitching together the short-term games knowing that it's this practice that will lead to winning long-term games even if it doesn't feel like winning for a while."
Avatar of Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford

Founder, 9others

"Luca provides very concrete examples with the concepts and frameworks he brings forward. Just like he helped me understand how antifragility can be cultivated in individuals and organisations, playing the long game gets real for me as I make plans and decisions."
Avatar of Maryse Lepage

Maryse Lepage

Executive coach, ex-Shopify

About the book

The key to winning long-term games is to stop playing them as a succession of separate short-term games.

Yet, most people take the opposite approach.

  1. The manager who sees each interaction with her team as a separate game. Every time she talks to her subordinates, it's to get things done rather than develop their skills. As a result, she fails to build the long-term assets (a competent team) she needs in order to win her long-term game (a successful career).
  2. The spouse who lies as a way to avoid responsibility. If lying has, say, a 1% chance of getting discovered, it's a great short-term tactic (it succeeds 99% of the time) but a terrible long-term strategy (if you lie once a week, you have a 99.5% chance of getting caught over a decade).
  3. The solopreneur who sends weekly emails to their mailing list and sees each as a separate game. Therefore, they consume their audience's trust to generate more sales within a single email instead of building trust to create more sales within a few months.

These three examples show that approaching long-term games as a succession of separate short-term games is a bad strategy despite working great over short time horizons.

Instead, you should play short-term games not to win them but to progress your long-term objectives.

This book teaches you how to do that and much more: how to design and execute Reproducible Success Strategies, how to pre-empt failure and learn from the failures of others, etc.

Foreword by Guy Spier

Available at these stores:

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Google Play Books
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Google Play Books
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Google Play Books
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Google Play Books

What's inside

  1. The two principles of playing long-term games

    and how to apply them to your personal and professional life

  2. Reproducible Success Strategies

    and how to determine whether a strategy is reproducible

  3. The three properties of good long-term strategies

    that can make success almost inevitable (for all realistic goals)

  4. Why playing long-term games doesn't imply delaying gratification

    but actually enables you to enjoy life today

  5. How to leverage the long term

    to open up better options and opportunities

  6. How to manage risks

    without losing time or opportunities

  7. How to design a strategy that works

    without committing to an excessively rigid structure

  8. The 1% life

    and how to achieve it

  9. And much more…

Get the book

Winning Long-Term Games cover
"Gem upon gem of insight [...] a must-read [...] for all those who plan on being successful and who take the goal of achieving that success with the deadly, focused, and unwavering seriousness it deserves."
Avatar of Guy Spier

Guy Spier

Founder, Aquamarine Fund

Also available as an audiobook!

About the author

Luca Dellanna

Luca Dellanna is the author of more than ten books. He is a researcher in adaptive systems and a management advisor.

Luca has also been teaching risk management and related topics for over ten years at the University of Genoa (as an external lecturer), and frequently gives guest lectures at many public and private institutions.

He has been a speaker at some of the most prestigious conferences and podcasts, such as Nudgestock (the largest behavioral sciences conference) and Econtalk (twice). He has been featured on The Spectator and other famous newspapers.

Luca lives in Turin, Italy, with his wife Wenlin and his dog Didi. He frequently spends time in Singapore for business and to visit family.

Part of Luca's portfolio / trusted by leaders at…

Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management

Luca is fluent in EN, IT, FR, ES, and has experience in the following industries: automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical, logistics, agricultural, fast-moving consumer goods, food, finance, fintech, tech, software, electronics, retail, hospitality, and consulting.

Luca's newsletter

You can expect 1-2 emails a month. Unsubscribe at any time.

They say about Luca

"Everybody should follow Luca Dellanna. Quality is very reliable. His signal-to-noise ratio is among the best."
Avatar of Xavier Faure

Xavier Faure

Founder, Spring Invest

"Luca is an extraordinary, insightful, thought-provoking author. He's one of those people who can explain anything in a simple way, and does so to prodigious effect."
Avatar of Sebastian Steele

Sebastian Steele

PM, Flexciton

"Working with Luca was fantastic! He was straightforward and well-prepared, pinpointing numerous opportunities I had overlooked in my business plan. I wholeheartedly recommend him."
Avatar of Christopher Samulliah

Christopher Samulliah

Tech Lead, CGS Digital

"Really helpful, I'm a different person… [Luca's work] fundamentally affected the way I communicate with people."
Avatar of Daniel Webb

Daniel Webb

CEO, Cobwebb

"Luca's Best Practices for Operational Excellence took my management to the next level. It's been almost a month since I started implementing the principles, but I can already say that I've noticed a significant improvement in my company's morale […] That feels amazing."
Avatar of Molson Hart

Molson Hart

CEO, Viahart

"One of the most important books I’ve read, period. It’s short, articulate, and expansive on a singular subject matter — ergodicity, which is really the key ingredient to success in life, marriage, business, family, happiness, health, etc."
Avatar of Blake Janover

Blake Janover

CEO, Janover Inc.

In the welcome email, you will find:

  • ✔ A guide on how to bring clarity to your teams
  • ✔ A 33% discount code for my book "Best Practices For Operational Excellence"
  • ✔ An archive of my top Twitter threads, including the ones market with a ⭐️ that are my favorite
  • ✔ A digital copy of my book "The Employee Engagement Handbook," with plenty of concrete advice to increase talent retention and commitment

Part of my portfolio / trusted by leaders at

Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management
Société Génerale
Shopify
DuPont
McKinsey and Company
Markel Group
Standard Chartered
Shopify
Marriott
Genova University
Mises Institute
Upstart Wealth Management

Get the book

Winning Long-Term Games cover
"Gem upon gem of insight [...] a must-read [...] for all those who plan on being successful and who take the goal of achieving that success with the deadly, focused, and unwavering seriousness it deserves."
Avatar of Guy Spier

Guy Spier

Founder, Aquamarine Fund

Also available as an audiobook!