In 1812 Napoleon was a conqueror bent on ruling the modern world and his ambitions led him to set his sights on Russia. His army was known as The Grand Army they were a sophisticated highly-trained modern army and had a well-known established doctrine of living off of the lands they conquered to avoid problems with supply lines. The Russians were no match for The Grand Army and retreated as the French invaders advanced. As the Russians retreated they burned everything of value that the French might use if captured, but most importantly they destroyed food and water sources. When the French reached Moscow the city was abandoned and reportedly set ablaze by the Russians leaving The Grand Army conquering essentially nothing. As Winter set in the army had to march back across the same route they had taken into Russia with no supplies and swiftly dwindling morale. Thousands starved as they struggled to reach better supplies. Russia had lost every battle, but won the war. This is a military strategy known as Scorched Earth and it dates back as far as 513 BC when first recorded accounts of its usage in Europe surfaced. In Napoleon’s case it led him into a Pyrrhic Victory, which is one that is so costly it would have been better to lose or give up instead.

The idea with the Watch it Burn strategy is that if you can’t have it, then you’ll destroy it and make it useless for your competition. Let’s say for example that a new technological innovation has been discovered by a foreign country and they’ve agreed to sell this innovation to your chief rival exclusively and your competitor has paid quite a bit for this exclusive access. While reviewing the innovation’s technical specs you notice that it may have national security implications and decide to hire a lobbying firm to bring this revelation to the attention of lawmakers. The end result is that the lawmakers you talk to decide to outlaw the innovation for usage in your country.

While this hasn’t brought you any business advantage and has costs you money, it has maintained the status quo – at least temporarily and costs your competition a great deal as well.

Pros vs. Cons
Pros: Watch it Burn can keep competitors from encroaching on your market share, becoming dominant, and taking advantages solely for themselves.

Cons: This strategy often leads to actions that are very unpopular with consumers and can eliminate potential future innovations that would have improved your own profits making it one of the most risky strategies and something that should most often be saved for extreme situations.