Revisiting the Short-Board Effect of the Bucket Theory

A bucket's capacity is determined by its shortest side.

In a bucket, as long as you're not the shortest side, you don't need to become an infinitely long one—nor can any side be infinitely long.

But when things go wrong, all the blame falls on the shortest side.

So as long as you're not the first to fall, it's not your problem and you won't be punished.

That's why people will still confidently step up even without any certainty of success. The reason is simple: they see other links in the chain are even less certain. There's nothing to fear from any major responsibility—as long as you're not the weakest link.

Even when you know from the start that defeat is inevitable, you don't flinch, because the shortest plank isn't yours. It's like five armies marching to battle—you know your own route can't win, but that's fine. It's not about being first; in fact, whoever goes first is destined to fail. When they fail, you have an excuse to stop advancing, go support them, greatly reduce the losses, earn merit, receive rewards, and get promoted. The punishment falls on them.