“If forgiveness and its sometimes-appropriate aim of reconciliation are predicated on truth, and made possible by forbearance rather than revenge, then developing and expressing empathy for the offending person is the third element. Empathy is rooted in the realization that the one who hurt us remains human and needs our kindness. Empathy recognizes that at some point we may have done to someone else the very thing we are now trying to transcend.”
Donald Shriver
"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but us let us never fear to negotiate."
John F. Kennedy
“The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself.”
Garth Brooks
“In a conflict, being willing to change allows you to move from a point of view to a viewing point -- a higher, more expansive place, from which you can see both sides.”
Thomas Crum
"We know from our experience that it is easier to develop trust in another person or in a group if we believe that we can disagree, and we will not be abandoned or hurt for our differences. It is difficult to trust those who deny us the right to be ourselves."
Susan Wheelan
“If you are going to be viewed as a leader in your organization and survive and thrive at work into the next century, you must develop your own conflict approach and develop a reputation for leadership in conflict management and consensus building.”
Lynne Eisaguirre
"Peace is the skillful management of conflict."
Kenneth Boulding
“When conflict becomes a win-lose contest in our minds, we immediately try to win.”
Thomas Crum
"If equilibrium means death for a living system, then going beyond the productive edge of chaos into the destruction of anarchy is equally self-limiting. Managing conflict enables us to approach the upheaval of chaos (the productive edge) and find invigorating new solutions."
John Ford
“Conflict can be seen as a gift of energy, in which neither side loses and a new dance is created.”
Thomas Crum
"Conflict can destroy a team which hasn't spent time learning to deal with it."
Thomas Isgar
“The peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict unnecessary.”
Sun Tzu
"All resistance reflects an unmet need, and is a request for authentic communication."
Ken Cloke
“You can’t always get what you want;
You can’t always get what you want;
But, if you try sometimes,
You just might find,
You get what you need.”
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
“Patience is, in and of itself, a great challenge and it often holds the key to breaking through a seeming impasse.”
Daisaku Ikeda
"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Perceive all conflicts as patterns of energy seeking a harmonious balance in the whole”
Dhyani Ywhoo
“Over two-thirds of managers spend more than ten percent of their time handling workplace conflict and forty-four percent of managers spend more than twenty percent of their time on conflict-related issues.”
Craig Runde
"Conflict is therefore simply the sound made by the cracks in a system, whether the system is personal, familial, relational, organizational, social, economic, or political. It is a warning light pointing at something in our environment or character that is not working for ourselves or others. It is an opportunity for rethinking and innovation. It is the birth-pang of a new way of being that is waiting to be born. It is a reminder of our interdependence, of the skills we need to improve, of what is most important in life, of what we need to do or let go of in order to escape its’ orbit and evolve to higher levels of conflict."
Ken Cloke
"Out beyond right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there."
Rumi