Diplomacy in the Ring (seems like an oxymoron, but isn’t)

“Diplomacy is not weakness,” said Kate Walsh, the star of “Private Practice” on ABC and a member of a dissident faction with Screen Actors Guild.
The New York Times has more on struggles at SAG, but I’d like to linger on Walsh’s thinking. The great struggle of my ad career has been diplomacy, because frankly, I feel like I’m holding myself back from slugging it out on a regular basis.
What I’ve learned is my ability (and yours) to slug it out with style and compassion is what makes the difference. Maybe the people on the other end, internally or at the client, truly don’t get it. What are you going to do? Beat some sense into them? I don’t think so. You’re going to dance.