--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is…" description: "\"“the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is the ability to call a retreat and declare victory at the same time.”\" — Gordon G. Chang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/gordon-g-chang-10335_breakthrough_the-conceptual-breakthrough-if-any-is-th_2966159.jpg" --- # the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is the ability to… ![“the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is the ability to call a retreat and declare victory at the same time.” quote by Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/gordon-g-chang-10335_breakthrough_the-conceptual-breakthrough-if-any-is-th_2966159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/gordon-g-chang-10335_breakthrough_the-conceptual-breakthrough-if-any-is-th_2966159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c9/gordon-g-chang-10335_breakthrough_the-conceptual-breakthrough-if-any-is-th_2966159.jpg) > ““the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is the ability to call a retreat and declare victory at the same time.”” [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A breakthrough can be recognizing when to withdraw while still claiming success, turning retreat into a strategic win. **In simple terms:** Winning can mean retreating wisely. Key Takeaway Know when to step back strategically. Themes strategy victory retreat innovation Mood analytical motivational Type strategic inspirational When to use this quote - negotiations - project management - conflict resolution - career moves Key Concepts military tactics business strategy psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have you turned a setback into a win? - What risks accompany declaring victory early? A Different Perspective Retreat may be seen as failure by others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [As with instant replay, NFL Films' use of slow motion, camera angles and the narration of Facenda was not just a technical breakthrough but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-verna/as-with-instant-replay-nfl-films-use-of-slow-motion-camera-angles-and/) [Tony Verna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-verna/) > [There is a cultural norm on the left of being afraid to declare victory, which is related to the binary of reform/revolution. Whereas reformists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-kauffman/there-is-a-cultural-norm-on-the-left-of-being-afraid-to-declare/) [Cynthia Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-kauffman/) > [“The days of mourning are over now. Wipe those tears from your eyes and speak healing to your wounded heart. Choose to declare victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/the-days-of-mourning-are-over-now-wipe-those-tears-from-your-eyes-and/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [The best policy is to declare victory and leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-aiken/the-best-policy-is-to-declare-victory-and-leave/) [George Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-aiken/) > [Now you must take money quickly, or there will be many companies saying they do the same thing. You need to take the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-winblad/now-you-must-take-money-quickly-or-there-will-be-many-companies/) Ann Winblad > [Compared to 1999...we cannot quite declare victory, but we can declare progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/compared-to-1999-we-cannot-quite-declare-victory-but-we-can-declare/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [“Celebrate Successes, but Don't Declare Victory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-guckenheimer/celebrate-successes-but-don-t-declare-victory/) Sam Guckenheimer > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [Historic changes and challenges. 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(121)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/just-like-the-breakthroughs-the-bad-stuff-always-takes-you-by/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [The hardware and the software used in the Breakthrough project will be compatible with other telescopes around the world, so they too can search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/the-hardware-and-the-software-used-in-the-breakthrough-project-will/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) ## More by Gordon G. 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Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“as long as our dreams outweigh our memories, America will be forever young”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/as-long-as-our-dreams-outweigh-our-memories-america-will-be-forever/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“China will make real progress in the fight against corruption only when prosecution and conviction are separated from politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/china-will-make-real-progress-in-the-fight-against-corruption-only/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“The students who surrendered the square on the morning of June 4 could not begin to imagine, in those sad days of 1989, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-students-who-surrendered-the-square-on-the-morning-of-june-4/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Consider these words from Lech Wałęsa: In the past, you could stand with a gun behind a man who had a pick and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/consider-these-words-from-lech-wa-sa-in-the-past-you-could-stand-with/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Before laissez-faire there was wu wei. “Practise not doing and everything will fall into place,” says the Tao Te Ching, Taoism’s primer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/before-laissez-faire-there-was-wu-wei-practise-not-doing-and/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“at any given time about 30 percent of the stocks on China’s markets are being manipulated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/at-any-given-time-about-30-percent-of-the-stocks-on-china-s-markets/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Restraint, however, is the essence of modern governance. A government’s self-control permits its people to create, explore, and discover, and that’s what allows a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/restraint-however-is-the-essence-of-modern-governance-a-government-s/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Until the tide goes out you don’t know who’s swimming naked. —WARREN BUFFETT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/until-the-tide-goes-out-you-don-t-know-who-s-swimming-naked-warren/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Communism went against life, against man’s fundamental needs, against the need for freedom, the need to be enterprising, to associate freely against the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/communism-went-against-life-against-man-s-fundamental-needs-against/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“The Maoist mechanisms of social control have been loosened. A totalitarian state has become merely an authoritarian one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-maoist-mechanisms-of-social-control-have-been-loosened-a/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Although China is short of the people it really needs—scientists, economists, doctors, teachers, practically everybody, in fact, except Indian chiefs—it employs its best and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/although-china-is-short-of-the-people-it-really-needs-scientists/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [“Crime wouldn’t pay if the government ran it. —UNKNOWN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/crime-wouldn-t-pay-if-the-government-ran-it-unknown/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) [Explore all 66 Gordon G. Chang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) ## More Breakthrough quotes > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [The hardware and the software used in the Breakthrough project will be compatible with other telescopes around the world, so they too can search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/the-hardware-and-the-software-used-in-the-breakthrough-project-will/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [Just like the breakthroughs, the bad stuff always takes you by surprise. 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Your time is coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/brokenness-is-often-the-road-to-breakthrough-hang-in-there-your-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Historic changes and challenges. Breakthroughs in human knowledge and opportunity. And yet, for vast numbers across the globe, the daily realities have not altered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historic-changes-and-challenges-breakthroughs-in-human-knowledge-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [... when things get rough, a breakthrough is just on the other side of the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/when-things-get-rough-a-breakthrough-is-just-on-the-other-side-of-the/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/tonight-after-a-breakthrough-year-for-america-our-economy-is-growing/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Opposition is just proof that you're close to a major breakthrough keepgoing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run-2/opposition-is-just-proof-that-you-re-close-to-a-major-breakthrough/) [Rev Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run-2/) > [ Innovation is not a big breakthrough invention every time. Innovation is a constant thing. But if you don't have an innovative company \[team\], coming… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/innovation-is-not-a-big-breakthrough-invention-every-time-innovation/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [“A reset isn't going backwards; it's clearing the path to move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-rivera/a-reset-isn-t-going-backwards-it-s-clearing-the-path-to-move-forward/) [Alex Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-rivera/) > [The consensus we arrived with States for amending the Constitution to implement GST is a major breakthrough. This alone has the potential to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-consensus-we-arrived-with-states-for-amending-the-constitution-to/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Conceivably, blockchains could rely on a number of standards above the Internet's existing standards to allow a smooth bridging from one layer to another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mougayar/conceivably-blockchains-could-rely-on-a-number-of-standards-above-the/) [William Mougayar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mougayar/) [Browse all 507 Breakthrough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the conceptual breakthrough, if any, is the ability to call a retreat and declare victory at the same time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon G. 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