In the movie Paycheck, Ben Affleck finds himself under attack from Uma Thurman’s futuristic weather machine. Buffeted by gale-force winds, Affleck raises his hands and calls out, “Alright, I give up! I give up!”
Thurman turns off the weather, smiles mischievously, and coos, “Don’t give up.”
There is more than one way to give up. In the sense of surrender, it means to admit defeat, as in battle or debate. In the sense of relinquish, it means to hand over, as in payment, property, or power.
Yet another synonym for give up is to capitulate, often used to mean conditional surrender. It’s that implied sense of conditionality that makes the word worthy of contemplation, particularly about one common variant . . . which happens to be this week’s entry into the Ethical Lexicon:
Recapitulate (re·ca·pit·u·late/ ree-kuh-pich-uh-leyt) verb
To review, repeat, or summarize; to give a new form or expression to
To repeat the principal stages or phases of a process
The root word capitulate derives from the Latin capitulum, meaning head of a discourse or chapter. In the same way that a capital letter indicates the beginning of a new sentence, a new chapter marks a new phase in the story. And before closing out one chapter, it’s prudent to revisit and consolidate the central idea or point of the previous chapter.
But how does that explain the connection to giving up? With a small shift of focus, we can discover a compelling new insight.
I frequently cite my college English professor Max Byrd, who remarked: “I’ve never understood why people complain about being disillusioned. I would be grateful for the opportunity to be relieved of my illusions.” And the most effective way to dispel illusion is with a healthy dose of reality.
We typically understand the purpose of summarization as providing a better grasp of the material previously learned and currently being reviewed. That’s true. But it’s not the only benefit.
Review is a close cousin of reconsider. If our ideas are sound, a review allows us to understand them more thoroughly and internalize them more deeply. But if our notions are still half-baked or otherwise flawed, recapitulation can help us recognize their imperfections, ideally to correct them or, if necessary, to abandon them.
Herein we find the connection to giving up. We don’t want to remain invested in flawed ideas any more than we want to throw good money after bad in ill-advised business ventures. The willingness to revisit ideas, search for inconsistencies, and make the necessary adjustments is critical to sound judgment, wise policy, and ethical decision-making.
Most of us can still remember the early days of GPS when, upon deviating from the directions dictated by our devices, we would hear the word, “recalculating.” It wasn’t a rejection of the process that had brought us to our current location. It was a reconsideration of the way forward based on new information, the capitulation of slavish loyalty to the past to find a surer path into the future.
Business folklore is filled with examples of giants who vanished from the Earth because they were unwilling to capitulate. Eastman Kodak pioneered digital photography but couldn’t relinquish its devotion to celluloid film. Blockbuster contemplated the shift to streaming but decided it couldn’t give up late fees on tardy DVDs and videocassettes. And maybe there’s still someone out there who favors a PalmPilot over a smartphone touchscreen . . . but extinction is as inevitable as nightfall.
Recapitulation provides the process for decision-makers to better understand their own ideas, strategies, and policies. By reviewing with an open mind, we can reaffirm what we have already concluded while simultaneously tweaking, improving, revising, and occasionally rejecting old views. It’s not hard if we’re willing to ask questions like these:
- Are the strategies, processes, and tools that got us here going to move us forward?
- Has the playing field changed so that we need to change our game plan?
- How can we build upon past success so that we don’t become victims of complacency?
- What lessons can we take from taking a wrong turn that will steer us back on course?
- Are we more invested in one specific course of action than we are in our long-term prosperity?
After all, we learn as much from failure as we do from success. Often more. As Uma Thurman says to Ben Affleck: “It’s all we are: the sum of our experiences. Besides, some of the best things in life are total mistakes.”