"Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of your imagination"

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Capitalisation.  Trick of the Wily Manipulators 

Yuval Harari has reminded us many times that Homo Sapiens lives in two worlds.  A real one of 'rivers, trees and lions' and an imaginary one of 'gods, nations and organisations'.  

And to the latter I would add the newspeak of the wily organisational wordsmiths.  In particular their use of capital letters.

resilience becomes Resilience
agility becomes Agility
authenticity becomes Authenticity
purpose becomes Purpose
values become Values
leadership becomes Leadership
diversity becomes Diversity
emotional intelligence becomes Emotional Intelligence

All of these words have one thing in common.  

None of them exist in the real world.  

They are imaginary constructs in our minds, 'notes on the keyboards of our imagination.'

The reason why the wily wordsmiths use capitalisation is to fool us into thinking that these constructs are actually real and not imaginary. 

They have 'real' meaning which is non-negotiable.  There is a hidden power residing within them, together with an implied sense of control.  

Capitalised words cannot be questioned or debated. The threat is implied. 

Your only task is to get with the programme!

And once you get with the programme you become trapped in their cult-like thinking (or lack of, to be more accurate).  Questioning is blasphemy.

In short insidious capitalisation is a form of mind control.  

A dark attempt to control what you think and do.  

And judging from the current organisational lexicon, it is frighteningly effective in generating bovine acquiescence.

That is, the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

Dealing with the Dastardly Wily Wordsmiths and their Capitalisation Cult
 

Ludwig Wittgenstein, possibly the greatest philosophical linguistic genius of all time, offers us this wise advice.

"Don't look for the absolute meaning of words.  It doesn't exist.  Look instead for the meaning in their use."

In the real world of 'rivers, trees and lions' words have no absolute meaning.  Ever.  They only have meaning in their use and in the moment of their use.  Every time the same word is used it can have a different meaning.  Therefore, ignore the capitals.

So be warned.  When someone offers you a capitalised word, understand that they are pretending to ignore Wittgenstein, claiming rights to their interpretation of meaning as inviolate.

And that's pure nonsense.  Humbuggery.

Learn to ask clear and practical questions.  For example:

"What exactly do you mean by Resilience?  Or Emotional Intelligence?  Can you define them?  How do you measure them?  Do these things actually exist in the real world of rivers, trees and lions?

And the most important real world question.  The how to?

"How do you teach the practical actions that build observable Resilience or Emotional Intelligence in the real world?  How do you measure if your efforts have been successful?"

The fun part of being a Capitalisation Cult Buster is that it gives you the satisfaction of being a smart and independent thinker.  

In other words a game changer.

Enjoy the game.