I was reading that President Franklin D. Roosevelt used to tell this story often when disputes arose in his administration:

Two Chinese coolies were arguing. The were loud and very angry in their dispute on a busy street. After watching them for awhile, a tourist said to the tour guide he was surprised no blows had been delivered given the intensity of their dispute. The guide replied:

"That's because he who strikes the first blow is admitting that he has run out of ideas. Both coolies are far too proud to want to admit that."

What truth there is in this little story and a good lesson for me to remember as well.