90 Balanced Compromise Quotes to Help You Negotiate a Win

These compromise quotes will help you reach a mutual agreement.

As a parent, it feels like I preach about compromising all the time.

I counsel the children to compromise with each other and their peers.

I also have a Master’s in Management and Leadership.

A lot of that education focused on how to have productive teams, so we learned a lot about being skilled at compromising.

We define the word as “the resolution of a dispute in which both sides make concessions.”

It is the word ‘concessions’ that gives compromises a poor reputation.

However, there is a better way to look at this.

Most people view compromise as a WIN-LOSE or a LOSE-LOSE situation.

Compromise doesn’t have to mean someone loses, though.

You can compromise in a way where everyone feels they won.

Read through the compromise quotes about government and political compromise.

There are also compromise quotes about the pros and cons of participating in a compromise.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Compromise quotes about government and politicians

1. “Mentors of mine were under a big pressure to minimize their femininity to make it. I’m not going to do that. That takes away my power. I’m not going to compromise who I am.” — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

2. “A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, ‘Huh. It works. It makes sense.'” — Barack Obama

3. “Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.” — James Russell Lowell

4. “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.” — John Keegan

5. “My own experience is to use the tools that are out there. Use the digital world. But never lose sight of the need to reach out and talk to other people who don’t share your view. Listen to them and see if you can find a way to compromise.” — Colin Powell

6. “Politics is compromise.” — Paddy Ashdown

7. “But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you’ve got to compromise. You’ve got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.” — Colin Powell

8. “That is why everyone in politics, and we do it, must make sure that they do not depend on one single-interest group. A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution.” — Angela Merkel

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of political quotes that show all perspectives.

9. “You can compromise between good, better, and best, and you can compromise between bad and worse and terrible. But you can’t compromise between good and evil. And now people look at the other side as a completely different kind of animal and say, ‘They are taking the country down the road to purgatory.’ It’s complete intolerance.” — Gary Ackerman

Is it bad to compromise quotes

10. “If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” — Margaret Thatcher

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of Margaret Thatcher quotes about strong will and leadership.

11. “If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.” — Robert Fritz

12. “Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity, and not having dignity in life. That’s really where failure comes.” — Tom Cochrane

13. “We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.” — Aiden Wilson Tozer

14. “More often, there’s a compromise between ethics and expediency.” — Peter Singer

15. “You can compromise without violating your principles, but it is nearly impossible to compromise when you turn principles into ideology.” — Jamie Dimon

16. “The ‘morality of compromise’ sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness or an admission of defeat. Strong men don’t compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.” — Andrew Carnegie

17. “Don’t cut corners or compromise to achieve your dreams.” – Chanda Kochhar

18. “The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune.” — Charles R. Swindoll

19. “Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval.” — Thomas S. Monson

20. “Choice is a form of compromise, no? So why choose if you can have both?” — Neri Oxman

The benefits of compromise quotes

21. “Tolerance, compromise, understanding, acceptance, patience – I want those all to be very sharp tools in my shed.” — CeeLo Green

22. “I simply do not think that yelling, swearing, threatening, or belittling will get you to the place you want to be faster than kindness, understanding, patience, and a little willingness to compromise.” — Rachel Nichols

23. Unless you are willing to compromise, society cannot live together.” — Alan Greenspan

24. Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

25. “Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.” — Paul Kagame

26. “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” — Abraham Lincoln

27. “If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.” — Aung San Suu Kyi

28. “Conciliation is not capitulation, nor is compromise to be deemed equivalent to imbalanced concession.” — Jalal Talabani

29. “Compromise, contrary to popular opinion, does not mean selling out one’s principles. Compromise means working out differences to forge a solution which fits the diversity of the body politic.” — Madeleine M. Kunin

30. “I think everybody wants someone who understands them and is able to compromise and meet them halfway. I mean, it goes both ways; you know?” — OMI

Compromise quotes about ethics and principles

31. “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.” — Janis Joplin

32. “There is no compromise when it comes to corruption. You have to fight it.” — A. K. Antony

33. “When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death – that is heroism.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

34. “Never compromise your principles, even if it leads to difficulties in the short term.” — Alan Casden

35. “If you compromise what you’re trying to do just a little bit, you’ll end up compromising a little more the next day or the next week, and when you lift your head, you’re suddenly really far away from where you’re trying to go.” — Spike Jonze

36. “Corporate executives and business owners need to realize that there can be no compromise when it comes to ethics, and there are no easy shortcuts to success. Ethics need to be carefully sewn into the fabric of their companies.” — Vivek Wadhwa

37. “There’s more than one way to get to the goal that you want to get to, but once you compromise your own principles, then you’re lost. You’re really lost.” — Anthony Fauci

38. “I will sit at the table and compromise with anyone in the name of progress, but there are things I’m not willing to compromise and negotiate on, and that is the rights of women, of immigrants, of workers, and of the LGBTQIA community.” — Ayanna Pressley

39. “A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.” — George Herbert

40. All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act is founded on compromise and barter.” — Edmund Burke

41. “All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.” — Mahatma Gandhi

42. I need to hold on to my soul and my integrity, and I can’t compromise that.” – Megan Fox

43. “If you ask me to compromise on principle, I will get out the veto pen.” — Bill Owens

Powerful compromise quotes

44. “A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.” — Ludwig Erhard

45. “To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don’t be.” — Golda Meir

46. “Compromise in colors is grey.” — Edi Rama

47. “Mediation is one of the most effective tools of non-violence. It can turn parties away from conflict, towards compromise.” — Miroslav Lajcak

48. They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich and just moody?” — Princess Diana

49. “I hate the fact that people think ‘compromise’ is a dirty word.” — Barbara Bush
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Barbara Bush quotes that will help you understand the complexities of life.

50. “Any negotiation involves compromise, and no one will get everything they want.” — Nicky Morgan

More compromise quotes and sayings

51. “I cannot compromise my respect for your love. You can keep your love, I will keep my respect.” – Amit Kalantri

52. “Compromise, communicate, and never go to bed angry – the three pieces of advice gifted and regifted to all newlyweds.” – Gillian Flynn

53. “Do not compromise yourself and put your goodness in the same impermanent category as whatever circumstance happening. Be the best you in every circumstance.” – Steve Maraboli

54. “Wherever we go, there seems to be only one business at hand—that of finding a workable compromise between the sublimity of our ideas and the absurdity of the fact of us.” – Annie Dillard

55. “When the final result is expected to be a compromise, it is often prudent to start from an extreme position.” – John Maynard Keynes

56. “We all get lots of people. And maybe we don’t always get to have them the exact way we want them, but if we can figure out a way to compromise, you know, then we can keep them all.” – John Corey Whaley

57. “Compromise is what binds people together. Compromise is sharing and conciliatory, it is loving and kind and unselfish.” – Ali Harris

58. “I will never compromise Truth for the sake of getting along with people who can only get along when we agree.” – D.R. Silva

59. “You gave me two alternatives that you could live with, and I chose the one that I could live with. That’s how compromise is supposed to work.” – Stephenie Meyer

60. “Remember that love is a compromise, but never let this compromise turn into a one-sided sacrifice.” – Ash Gabrieli

Never Compromise Quotes To Keep You Focused On Your Interests

61. “No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.” — Alan Moore

62. “There can be no compromise on basic principles. There can be no compromise on moral issues. There can be no compromise on matters of knowledge, of truth, of rational conviction.” — Ayn Rand

63. “Compromise for your dream but never compromise on your dream.” — Imran Khan

64. “Love and respect yourself and never compromise for anything. And then you will be surprised how much growth starts happening of its own accord.. as if rocks have been removed and the river has started flowing.” — Rajneesh

65. When  you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho

66. “Compromise is a word found only in the vocabulary of those who have no will to fight.” — Josemaria Escriva

67. “Never compromise and sell yourself short.” — Naturi Naughton

68. “Remember who you are. Don’t compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.” — Lysa TerKeurst

69. “It is the weak man who urges compromise – never the strong man.” — Elbert Hubbard

70. “The main aim is to up my game at every possible turn without compromise.” — Nicky Romero

Compromise Quotes To Help You Negotiate A Win

71. “The body can endure compromise and the mind can be seduced by it. Only the heart protests.” ― Jeanette Winterson

72. “Compromise means to go just a little bit below what you know is right. It’s just a little bit, but it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine.” ― Joyce Meyer

73. “As I was growing up, no one in my family got their needs met through respectful negotiation and compromise.” ― Olga Trujillo

74. “You know you’re in a bureaucracy when a hundred people who think ‘A’ get together and compromise on ‘B.” ― Scott Adams

75. “If you have to compromise your ethics to get it, then it is not worth having.” ― Akiroq Brost

76. “Exposure promotes understanding, understanding promotes empathy, and empathy promotes compromise.” ― F. Allen Davis

77. “Compromise is a mindset, not an activity.” ― Frank Sonnenberg

78. “Compromises have a rather healthy reproductive system and before one begins to adapt to the new order of things more would have been made.” ― Aysha Taryam

79. “Every time you decide not to compromise your honesty in any form of a relationship, you become a co-partner with the Universe in creating truthful meaning for any existence.” ― Sameh Elsayed

80. “Compromise is a win-win strategy.” ― Frank Sonnenberg

Compromise Quotes To Determine What You Want

81. “Be careful not to compromise what you want most for what you want now.” ― Zig Ziglar

82. “Compromise is but the sacrifice of one right or good in the hope of retaining another — too often ending in the loss of both.” ― Tryon Edwards

83. “Compromise is like the middle of the road; always safer to walk on than the edges.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

84. “Life is full of compromises, and whether or not you’re willing to negotiate.” ― Julianne Moore

85. “Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little then to break.” ― Jane Wells

86. “Living is a compromise, between doing what you want and doing what other people want.” ― John Updike

87. “A good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied.” ― Larry David

88. “You need to do the work to bring the money in, but not compromise standards.” ― Heston Blumenthal

89. “Compromise is not about losing. It is about deciding that the other person has just as much right to be happy with the end result as you do.” ― Donna Martini

90. “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” ― John F. Kennedy

What did you learn from these compromise quotes?

So, how do you turn a WIN-LOSE or a LOSE-LOSE situation into one where everybody wins?

The first thing you have to do is change your mindset about compromising.

Communicate with the opposite side and figure out what they would need to feel like they won.

Let them know what would feel like a win.

You don’t have to play hardball or be a jerk.

Keep your mind open during this initial part of the conversation because people are rarely as far apart on a matter as they seem.

The best tool to use for a WIN-WIN compromise is a process called ‘principled negotiation.’

There are five critical steps to this process:

1. Separate the people from the problem
2. Forget your position and focus on interests
3. Invent options where everyone gains
4. Use objective criteria
5. What is your best fallback option (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement)

Do you have some favorite compromise quotes and sayings you would like to add?

How about a time where you reached a WIN-WIN compromise?

Let us know in the comment section below!