Cutting Off Communications

Giving up control by cutting off communications would also help you capture our hypothetical castle. Recall that in the battle for the castle your enemies will surrender only if they believe you will fight until victory. To credibly commit to never retreating, you could first order your troops to fight to the death, then leave your troops behind on the island. If your enemies see you leave and believe that no one else on the island has the ability to call off the attack, then they will think that your troops will fight to the end.

Cutting off communications can be useful in business negotiations as well. For example, imagine facing a buyer who won’t accept your current offer because she believes you will soon make a better one. To credibly convince this buyer that you won’t lower your price, you could make one final offer, walk away from the negotiations, and then not return the buyer’s calls, faxes, or e-mails. Refusing contact can enhance credibility.

In a 1965 prison riot a warden refused to listen to prisoner demands until they released the guard hostages.^[4] By refusing to even listen to the prisoners, the warden made credible his implicit promise never to give in.^[5] Likewise, if an employee constantly pesters you for a salary increase, refusing to even listen to her demands credibly signals that she has no chance of prevailing.

^[4]Davis (1970), 107–108.

^[5]Ibid.