--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've learned that in order to achieve…" description: "\"I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/thom-mayne-12101_achieve_i-ve-learned-that-in-order-to-achieve-wh_2667347.jpg" --- # I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it… ![“I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the table.” quote by Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/thom-mayne-12101_achieve_i-ve-learned-that-in-order-to-achieve-wh_2667347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/thom-mayne-12101_achieve_i-ve-learned-that-in-order-to-achieve-wh_2667347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/thom-mayne-12101_achieve_i-ve-learned-that-in-order-to-achieve-wh_2667347.jpg) > “I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the table.” [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Negotiation can be more effective than aggressive defense of autonomy. **In simple terms:** Negotiation beats stubborn resistance. Key Takeaway Choose dialogue over confrontation. Themes conflict resolution negotiation autonomy Mood analytical pragmatic Type professional strategic When to use this quote - workplace disputes - creative collaborations Key Concepts business strategy psychology Questions to Reflect On - When is negotiation insufficient? - How to balance autonomy with compromise? A Different Perspective May not apply when core values are threatened. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Defend Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend-autonomy-2475181/) [Fists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fists/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Negotiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiate/) [Negotiate Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiate-defend-2475180/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Sense Negotiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-negotiate-2475183/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Work Pounding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-pounding-2475182/) ## Related quotes > [So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. It's more an instinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend-the-autonomy-of-art-i-m/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I'm a private person by nature. I live in my brain half the time, not the world, and I'm not a natural negotiator. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-m-a-private-person-by-nature-i-live-in-my-brain-half-the-time-not/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [It's too simplistic to advance the notion of the autonomy of art as a reason for turning away from the public. You can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/it-s-too-simplistic-to-advance-the-notion-of-the-autonomy-of-art-as-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I fought violently for the autonomy of architecture. It's a very passive, weak profession where people deliver a service. You want a blue door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-fought-violently-for-the-autonomy-of-architecture-it-s-a-very/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-involved-with-the-world-but-at-the-same-time-it-has-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Vulnerability is something that I negotiate every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/vulnerability-is-something-that-i-negotiate-every-day/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Almost always, when I'm on TV, the producers who call me, who negotiate what we're going to say, is a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/almost-always-when-i-m-on-tv-the-producers-who-call-me-who-negotiate/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [As women, you have to negotiate your way through a man's world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kari-matchett/as-women-you-have-to-negotiate-your-way-through-a-man-s-world/) [Kari Matchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kari-matchett/) > [You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-negotiate-in-bad-faith-if-you-do-not-forgive-your-adversary/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [If Iran does not take steps in the near future to live up to its obligations, then the United States will not continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/if-iran-does-not-take-steps-in-the-near-future-to-live-up-to-its/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I will negotiate with my worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/i-will-negotiate-with-my-worst-enemy/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [“Fire isn’t patient. Fire does not negotiate. I should have known these things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/fire-isn-t-patient-fire-does-not-negotiate-i-should-have-known-these/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [I had a couple of agents, but then I went on my own. I thought I could negotiate my own deals and it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-grobbelaar/i-had-a-couple-of-agents-but-then-i-went-on-my-own-i-thought-i-could/) [Bruce Grobbelaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-grobbelaar/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) ## More by Thom Mayne > [I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-all-good-architecture-should-challenge-you-make-you-start/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [The multiplicity of ideas is what I'm interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/the-multiplicity-of-ideas-is-what-i-m-interested-in/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I've been such an outsider my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-ve-been-such-an-outsider-my-whole-life/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [For me the meaning of my work is much more fluid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/for-me-the-meaning-of-my-work-is-much-more-fluid/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [The multiplicity of ideas is what Im interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/the-multiplicity-of-ideas-is-what-im-interested-in/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [There is no modern prototype for a campus. You have to have a completely different model which has to do with transparency and exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/there-is-no-modern-prototype-for-a-campus-you-have-to-have-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is a negotiated art, and it's highly political, and if you want to make buildings, there is diplomacy required.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-a-negotiated-art-and-it-s-highly-political-and-if-you/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [We're producing spaces that accommodate human activity. And what I'm interested in is not the styling of that, but the relationship of that as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/we-re-producing-spaces-that-accommodate-human-activity-and-what-i-m/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [No matter what I've done, what I've tried to do, everybody says it can't be done. And it's continuous across the complete spectrum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/no-matter-what-i-ve-done-what-i-ve-tried-to-do-everybody-says-it-can/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I'm not a tabula rasa type. In some ways, the more constraints I have, the work is more interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-m-not-a-tabula-rasa-type-in-some-ways-the-more-constraints-i-have/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I lived in a state of rage from 12 to 20. Until college, I was beyond an outsider. I was a voyeur of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-lived-in-a-state-of-rage-from-12-to-20-until-college-i-was-beyond/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I think a lot of people have the Frank Lloyd Wright model in their brains. The architect comes in with this act of creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-the-frank-lloyd-wright-model-in-their/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I think my clients would tell you I'm a problem solver. I'm not there to agree with people. I'm there to articulate a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-my-clients-would-tell-you-i-m-a-problem-solver-i-m-not-there/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-involved-with-the-world-but-at-the-same-time-it-has-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Large-scale public projects require the agreement of large numbers of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/large-scale-public-projects-require-the-agreement-of-large-numbers-of/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) [Explore all 56 Thom Mayne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) ## More Achieve quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) [Deon Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-taylor/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) [Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/) [Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. 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