There’s an old story about an army who invades another country. Right before a key battle, the general instructs the army to burn all of their own boats. Without the boats, there would be no way for the army to turn around. The only way back home was winning the battle. In most versions of this story, the army ends up winning, and the narrator praises the general for their genius idea to burn the boats.
There are a lot of good reasons to burn the boats. You decide and commit. You and your team can focus, and not worry about the cost of maintaining other options. You put yourself—or yourselves—in a position where you must rise to the occasion (or fail spectacularly). You have no options that your weaker instincts—paranoia, despair, doubt—can feed on. You must move forward.
The problem with this story—and tactic—is when there is an extremely slim possibility of success, and you decide to burn the boats anyway. You use it to justify an overconfident decision that will hurt. You prematurely cut off other options, before you fully explored them. You remain close-minded and stubborn, when you’re better served being open and flexible. Or perhaps you run out of time and resources—by the time the metaphorical battle takes place, you’re exhausted and can’t muster the energy you need in order to fight.
Knowing the right moments to apply desperation—and when not to—is an art. The one thing that’s certain is it will be the best move at some point. When the opportunity calls, don’t back down.