Credible commitments and focal points shape strategic outcomes.
Cortés scuttling his ships is the archetype: removing your own option to retreat is what makes the commitment believable. Legislated deadlines and escrow arrangements do the same work institutionally.
In practice
- A supplier signs a contract with a penalty clause they cannot escape, and the buyer believes the delivery date for the first time.
- A government legislates a deficit rule that binds its own successor, which is the point.