4. CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND DESPARATION: THE DEATH-GROUND STRATEGY
You are your own worst enemy. You waste precious time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in the present. Cut your ties to the past; enter unknown territory. Place yourself on 'death ground', where your back is against the wall and you have to fight like hell to get out alive.

PART II ORGANIZATIONAL (TEAM) WARFARE

5. AVOID THE SNARE OF GROUPTHINK: THE COMMAND-AND-CONTROL STRATEGY
The problem in leading any group is that people inevitably have their own agendas. You have to create a chain of command in which they do not feel constrained by your influence yet follow your lead. Create a sense of participation, but do not fall into groupthink -- the irrationality of collective decision making.

this isn't a self-help book.

Well the way I see it is this: we all can agree that we fight our hardest when our back is against the wall. But if we fight like our back is against the wall (i.e. our hardest)all the time, the likelihood of it coming down to such a desperate position diminishes.
To relate this to a modern-day non-war point, say you work on commission. If you work your ass off all the time, you hopefully won't get to a point where you're wondering what you're going to do this month because you haven't made any sales.

There is a particular 'mind set' that kicks in...when you 'know' you are going to die. At least for the average civilian, such as myself, there is a release of caution. Not so much as becoming desperately superhuman, so much as one becomes open/willing to try other avenues/opportunities/strategies.

for a good example in history, look to Cortez in the Spanish conquest of Mexico against the 1 million strong Aztec empire. After onshore a while, his men were growing uneasy and were talking of mutany to return home to their families in Spain via escape to Cuba. Cortez order the ships to be scuttled so his men had no choice but to push on with him as their only way home.

The Russians during WWII, particularly in defense of their homeland against German invasion, had strict policies and enforcement of deserters on a battlefield. Deployed in the rear of fighting units would be machine gunners who's only mission it was to enforce this policy, and only as a last resort, they would engage the actual enemy.

I think the lesson here is we become more commited to the fight when our options are limited. limiting one's options on purpose to aquire this state of mind is sometimes strategically wise for the greater cause.

Mr. Morris, I like this. Basically, having your back up against the wall gives you no choice but to move forward.