About this quote

Fairness offered first tends to come back fastest. Insisting only on your own due invites a standoff; giving the other side their fair share disarms the fight and clears the path to what you're owed. It works as strategy and as conscience at once.

When to use it

• Opening a negotiation by proposing a genuinely fair split, which closes the deal in half the time.
• Conceding the one point you know your opponent is right about, and watching the argument cool immediately.
• A landlord who returns a deposit promptly and in full, and gains a tenant who leaves the place spotless.