the corner office

Charles Miller's Rules of Argument:

Rule one is scarily simple. You will never change anyone’s mind on a matter of opinion. Someone going into an argument believing one thing, and coming out the other side not believing it is a freak occurrence ranking somewhere alongside virgin birth and victorious English sporting teams.

So true. Gay marriages, US/Iraq issues, coding styles, the lot. All conspire to chew up precious minutes and hours. It's not like one is ever going to stop wanting to say one's say, or stop enjoying a good set-to, but Charles hits the nail on the head: understand what you're going to accomplish and know when to leave well enough alone.