The Diplomat Knows

1. What you say is important but what you don't say is even more important.



2. Nothing is trivial. Great loves have been won or lost with the slightest gesture or intonation.



3. Always understate your case.



4. If a personal attack is necessary, let it be made by someone who will soon be leaving town.



5. The party who cares least has enormous power.



6. It may take more than 20 years to determine who really won a dispute.



7. If you are truly powerful you don't need to raise your voice.



8. Many fights are won not by victories but by not losing.



9. The problems on the horizon will usually disappear before they reach you.



10. Some of the most dangerous people in the world are unrestrained idealists.



11. If you want to make something permanent, call it a pilot program.



12. One of the best ways to kill a creative proposal is to assign it to a committee.



13. Never attack anything half-heartedly.



14. Your enemy today may be your ally tomorrow.



15. The friend who is so amiable that he would never attack you may also be so amiable that he'll never defend you.



16. Very hard messages can be delivered in a very polite manner.



17. Lions and lambs tend to behave like lions and lambs, however much they may pretend to do otherwise.