--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of attacking, focused on taking…" description: "\"“Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.”\" — William Ury" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg" --- # Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick. ![“Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.” quote by William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg) > ““Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.”” [William Ury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Instead of attacking, focus on removing the source of conflict **In simple terms:** Defuse conflict by eliminating the cause, not attacking people Key Takeaway Remove conflict triggers, not people Themes conflict resolution negotiation non‑violence Mood strategic calm Type advice negotiation When to use this quote - business disputes - family arguments - diplomacy Key Concepts interest‑based bargaining mediation Questions to Reflect On - How to identify the real "stick" in disputes? - When is confrontation necessary? 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The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [When I hit bottom, I can attack the problem and get to where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-hit-bottom-i-can-attack-the-problem-and-get-to-where-i-want-to/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [The best way to counter-attack a hater is to make it blatantly obvious that their attack has had no impact on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/the-best-way-to-counter-attack-a-hater-is-to-make-it-blatantly/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Everything has got a place in my house. If something is moved I get a panic attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rylan-clark-neal/everything-has-got-a-place-in-my-house-if-something-is-moved-i-get-a/) [Rylan Clark-Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rylan-clark-neal/) > [I mean, it's not just the rappers, you know what i'm saying? People want to attack anybody that's a large figure, you know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/i-mean-it-s-not-just-the-rappers-you-know-what-i-m-saying-people-want/) [The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/) > [Sometimes when you take a tough action against one side in the conflict, they see you as part of the conflict and they attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/sometimes-when-you-take-a-tough-action-against-one-side-in-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/hence-when-able-to-attack-we-must-seem-unable-when-using-our-forces/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Free speech has a very small constituency on the modern campus, particularly if the speaker under attack is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leo/free-speech-has-a-very-small-constituency-on-the-modern-campus/) [John Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leo/) > [Daniil is a player who will not give you many chances to attack. 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It's going to kill you anyways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/attack-life-it-s-going-to-kill-you-anyways/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For those of us in the political business, generally, it's been pretty much an unwritten but understood rule that family and children are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/for-those-of-us-in-the-political-business-generally-it-s-been-pretty/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) Browse all 1,074 Attack quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Ury" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-away-the-stick/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attack" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-away-the-stick/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/william-ury-16849_attack_instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-a_2022599.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of attacking, focused on taking away the stick.” — William Ury", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Ury", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ury/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Instead of attacking, focused on taking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-away-the-stick/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ury/instead-of-attacking-focused-on-taking-away-the-stick/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```