We owe our children β the most vulnerable citizens in any society β a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
If you are negotiating you must do so in a spirit of reconciliation, not from the point of view of issuing ultimatums.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Negotiation should focus on understanding and healing rather than creating conflict through demands.
In this quote, Nelson Mandela emphasizes the importance of approaching negotiations with a mindset aimed at reconciliation. Rather than adopting a confrontational stance that involves issuing ultimatums, one should strive for mutual understanding and cooperation, leading to more productive and harmonious outcomes.
Themes
NegotiationReconciliationPeaceUnderstandingCooperation
In practice
Example use cases
In a business meeting discussing contract terms, one could use this quote to encourage a collaborative atmosphere.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes βWhat freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
Nelson MandelaRead
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson MandelaRead
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