Have character, but don't be a character.

I don't follow the thought; "Winning is not important, playing the game is". If that is in fact true; then why do we keep score??

Call it a character flaw -- when under attack, I counter attack. Always.

Pain was their body's way of telling them that they'd pushed themselves to their limits - which was exactly where they were supposed to be.

The rules of war and business are the same. Victory and success are the same. In one it's life and/or death in the other it is success or failure. There really is little room for compromise of "gray matter".

Knives are like credit cards; don't leave home without 'em and always carry several

Conventional wisdom is no wisdom at all. Conventional wisdom is taking somebody else's word for the way things are It's the followers of this world who rely on assumption. Not the leaders.