Jason T. Smith Quotes

An ability to compromise is important. That means stepping back and getting the ego out of the way in order to accomplish what you want to get done.

I'm just not a purist. You set goals and you have to work with everyone to figure out how to get what you can.

Sometimes a little compromise isn't a bad thing. You don't need to be precious about it.

I'm a compromiser and a maneuverer. I try to get something. That's the way our system works.

I don't know how you can govern without ever compromising.

One good thing about being in business is you learn to compromise. And so you learn to strike a deal that maybe isn't what you were looking for but is better than what you've got.

If I believe in something, I will fight for it, with all I have. But I do not demand all or nothing. I would rather get something than nothing.

It is not always possible to have everything go as one likes. In working with allies, it sometimes happens that they develop opinions of their own

I'm a great believer in compromises. I do not believe in capitulation.

As a writer, you're really in control of almost everything. That's not the case in TV. You have to be prepared to work with a lot of people to make something happen, and you got to be prepared, at least in the beginning, to not be too good at your specific task.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

We all agree on the necessity of compromise. We just can't agree on when it's necessary to compromise.

I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.

Compromise is moving in the right directlon more slowly than one might like.

Reagan is held up to us as an example of never raising taxes. Correction: Reagan raised taxes six of his eight years as president. Why? He was a pragmatist, not doctrinaire. He saw problems emerging, and when his policies faltered he changed his views. Flexibility, not rigidity.

I am an expert in the 'art of the possible.'

In politics, you must let the other person have your way.

One thing I learned particularly at Yale was how to work with others. Having studied so long trying to master myself, the biggest challenge was learning about the other person's work.

When you collaborate, you have to be willing to scrap a lot.

I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the table.

You have to compromise all the way. The only thing that counts is the result.

When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better. After all, nobody's right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice a day.

I am willing ... when I cannot get all I wish, to take what I can get.

I could sit down and talk with the devil if necessary.

An ideologue believes that what is right will work. A pragmatist believes that what works is right.