Burning Platform: Why false urgency backfires

We are going to play with fire for the next few days (metaphorically speaking).

Next in series: Part 2A - burning the ships?, Part 2B - burning the ships decision playbook

Burning Platform: Why false urgency backfires

Playing with Fire, Part 1

A few years ago, I was in a building when the fire alarm went off. It wasn’t a drill. The alarms blared, the lights flashed—and everyone froze. We all looked around at each other.

Was this real?
Should we move?
Do we really need to go outside?

It struck me how often change efforts look exactly like that. The “alarm” is sounded—“We’re in crisis! We must change!”—but people don’t respond with urgency. Instead, they look to each other for cues. Is this real, or just another false alarm?

(Important note: in real life, always assume the alarm is real and make your way out safely.)

The Burning Platform Problem

In change management, the “burning platform” metaphor suggests that people won’t move unless they’re forced. The story comes from an oil rig worker who had to jump into icy waters because the platform was on fire. The idea stuck, and leaders often try to replicate it by creating a sense of crisis.

But here’s the problem: if you cry fire too many times without visible flames, people stop moving. Isabella Brusati, writing on LinkedIn, warns that “relying too much on the burning platform strategy can have significant drawbacks, such as complacency and short-term thinking. When every project is presented as an urgent, crisis-driven necessity, it may cause employees to become desensitized… Repeated false alarms can erode trust and result in a situation where employees no longer react effectively to real emergencies.”

So what should leaders do instead?

When There Is a Crisis: Show the Fire

This doesn’t mean leaders should avoid urgency altogether. If there really is a crisis, don’t just sound the alarm—show the fire. Present the data. Visualize the problem. Give clear, decisive action steps. In moments of real danger, gradual adjustments don’t cut it. People need clarity, direction, and confidence that leadership knows what to do.

When There Isn’t a Crisis: Use Deadlines and Purpose

When urgency isn’t real, manufacturing it only damages credibility. (Yes, we all know the story of the little boy who called wolf.)

Instead, leaders can sustain change through healthier practices:

1. Deadlines provide momentum

Deadlines give structure and pacing. They create healthy tension without resorting to panic.

2. Purpose creates commitment

When people see how change connects to mission and values, they buy in with intent, not fear. Purpose outlasts urgency every time.

Build Resilience, which sustains energy

As The Resilience Alliance notes, human energy is the currency of change. If leaders waste it with constant alarms, they deplete the very resource they need most. Clear communication, a few aligned priorities, and space to recover keep teams strong for the long haul.

Rethinking Urgency

That fire alarm moment taught me something: people don’t move because of noise. They move when they trust the signal is real, the danger is visible, and the path forward is clear.

As leaders, our job isn’t to create panic. It’s to provide clarity, structure, and purpose. Real urgency should be respected, but it shouldn’t be faked.

Takeaway

• If the alarm is real, show the fire and lead with decisive action.

• If it’s not, don’t invent a crisis. Instead, give people deadlines, connect them to purpose, and sustain their resilience.

That approach builds trust. And trust is the real fuel for lasting change.

Tomorrow, we will look at burning your ships.

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