“When people can do something simple to avoid conflict--say, hit a button or unlock a latch--they'll generally do it.”

“The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided, but NEVER hit softly.”

“In any case, in general, I prefer to avoid conflict when I can. Not because I'm afraid or because I'm too weak to fight back. But because conflict eats up your time. It is exhaustive in terms of energy you have to expend to be involved in it. More if you mean to win, and I'd never do it if I didn't mean to win. I'd rather spend my time on other things and in general, most people aren't worth that much of my time and energy.”

“When you say something really unkind, when you do something in retaliation your anger increases. You make the other person suffer, and he will try hard to say or to do something back to get relief from his suffering. That is how conflict escalates.”

“I see people, as they approach me, trying to make up their minds whether they'll 'say something about it' or not. I hate if they do, and if they don't.”

“Because when people are transferring millions of dollars, they don’t simply hit the Send button on their computer.”