Game Theory Tuesday: Why You Might Want to Burn Bridges

Image source: peasap via flickr

Forget the advice “never burn bridges.” There are many times that burning a bridge is not just beneficial, but absolutely necessary to accomplish a goal.

“Never burn bridges” generally means don’t leave a job or relationship on bad terms recklessly. While I agree with this particular application (I always leave on planned terms), I disagree that one should never burn bridges as a general rule. Burning bridges can be positive and should be seen in a more constructive light.

I want you to revise your negative notion about burning bridges. Think about burning bridges as a tool, much like a carpenter views a sledge hammer. Reckless use causes irreversible damage and must be avoided. But careful use is appropriate and even necessary to begin new construction. Control the tool and reap the benefits.

Burning bridges is a classic game theory strategy. Removing or limiting options can paradoxically improve payoffs. I have previously discussed such examples in the context of airline food, the Illinois smoking ban, and in splitting restaurant bills.

Today, I discuss two areas where you can burn bridges advantageously.

Burn bridges that never existed

I saw this strategy enacted a few years ago on The Daily Show, a comedic fake news show. The guest was a government official and he was angry with Jon Stewart, the show’s host. For weeks, Stewart has been poking fun of the guest for presenting inconsistent facts during news conferences. Armed with an opportunity for revenge, the guest listed a few examples of how The Daily Show was inconsistent in its facts. He demanded Stewart provide an explanation for his hypocrisy.

Stewart’s answer had to be careful. His answer would influence whether this guest, and others like him, would ever come on the show. If the answer was soft, it might come off as unprofessional. If it was too harsh, it might burn a bridge.

What did Stewart say? Without missing a beat, Stewart mockingly gave the answer: “Here at the Daily Show, we… well… we don’t check our facts.”

The audience immediately burst out into laughter and the guest looked very angry. He had the look of “I can’t believe I agreed to this show, and no one I know is going to come on this show again.”

Stewart certainly burned a bridge, but this was not bad. The truth is that bridge was one that never existed. The Daily Show is not about getting every fact right, but rather about the comedy of politics.

The impact was clear. The guest will likely never return on the show, but the other side is that future guests have never been as confrontational. By committing to his brand, Stewart improved the quality of his future guests.

When backed into a corner, burn all bridges equally

The yardstick for successful people is different than for unsuccessful people. Successful people are criticized for times they fail. Unsuccessful people are praised for times they win.

Most actors aspire to be A-listers, the most bankable movie stars. Kathy Griffin, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed “D-lister.” Why such a low standard?

Well, perhaps it is because she has no other choice. Griffin has inadvertently created a reputation for controversy. She has been banned from several talk shows, including the David Letterman show. In addition, she was fired from the E! Entertainment channel in 2005 after making an off-hand remark about Dakota Fanning at an award show.

Backed into a corner, Griffin has started burning all kinds of bridges on her show “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.” No one is free from her criticism. According to the New York Times, she’s made fun of Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’Brien, Ryan Seacrest, Miley Cyrus, Russell Crowe, Hugh Hefner, Nicole Kidman, and even Michael Gelman, executive producer of “Live With Regis and Kelly.”

And Griffin is aware of her gamble:

“Not that it doesn’t occur to me that I’m burning bridges,” Ms. Griffin said. “I do know I shouldn’t say this stuff, and I do have voices in my head, and I do have my mom, the angel on my shoulder, telling me to stop, but I just can’t. I can’t shut up. And obviously I’ve paid the price.”

Griffin is perhaps using a more extreme version of Stewart’s strategy. She has few options remaining, so she can burn more bridges that never existed. And she’s apparently doing it effectively.

Her show won an Emmy for outstanding noncompetitive reality show and is now entering its fourth season on Bravo.

How you can use the advice

Burning bridges is not just for talk show hosts and celebrities. You can use these methods too.

What are some of my own examples?

I burn bridges that never existed when writing articles. I criticize the idea of budgets for individuals and miss out on strategic connections with other bloggers. But I’m not worried because this bridge never existed. I can’t honestly support an idea I don’t believe. So I torched the bridge with my articles about why I don’t budget and why budgets are unreasonable. But by burning this bridge I have found the most valuable commodity–readers that listen to new ideas and think.

I also burn all bridges equally when I’m backed into a corner. Once I was in a committee where all the group members despised me for unexplainable reasons. I tried everything I could to resolve the situation. When I failed and was more or less outcast, I tried something else. Like Griffin, I raised the ante and went for burning all bridges. And amazingly, this worked. When I unfairly criticized one person’s policies, I made temporary allies from enemies of that person in the moment. I also started to get judged on things I did right rather than things I messed up. Though I didn’t make any long-time friends from all of this, I was backed into a corner and did what I could. Burning bridges helped me make effective change when I did have power.

You can burn bridges effectively too, if you are conscious and careful. Before you jump in, just be mindful of a quotation from the Scottish guitarist David Russell:

“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.”