Bridge Repairs

Thousands of years ago, bridge burning was a

military strategy, used to sever the route

between your troops and an advancing enemy.

It also meant there was no returning to

where you’d just been: You were committed to

marching onward, no matter what happened.

While not quite so dramatic in the modern

office world, figurative burned bridges can

be just as hard to undo. There’s no single

definition of what exactly a burned business

bridge is, but you know it when it happens.

Maybe you battle a coworker for years and

then don’t show up to her farewell party.

Maybe you mess up your first big contract

assignment with a new company, or resign in

a dramatic huff, or tell a boss what you

really think of him on your last day.

Burning a bridge may feel good at the time—

it can be the easy way out of an awkward

situation, a release of pent-up anger, a

chance to let your emotions take over—but

the ashes can follow you personally and

professionally.