Resolution must allow all parties—including whoever is clearly in the wrong—to maintain face and dignity. Outcomes that humiliate, publicly shame, or corner someone create worse problems than the original conflict. This requirement shapes everything: how you communicate about conflicts, what solutions you propose, what you say publicly versus privately. Craft solutions that allow everyone to accept outcomes without appearing to have lost.
Provide graceful exit paths. Avoid backing people into corners where their only option is continued fighting. Even when you are entirely right and they are entirely wrong, find ways to address the wrong without destroying the person.
This is not softness—it is practical wisdom that humiliated parties become future enemies who will seek opportunities to restore their honor, often at your expense. Resolution that preserves dignity creates durable peace.
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