On page 284, the book states, "Moreover, sometimes what seems to be a success turns out to be a failure, and vice versa. For example, you may succeed in coercing your opponent to accept your proposal and undermine your long-term relationship, or you may settle a superficial issue and provoke a deeper conflict a deeper conflict that is much worse. Or you may fail to resolve a conflict and later discover a better solution, rebuild trust, or learn an important lesson as a result."
Keeping this in mind could prove to be crucial. Success and failure are not only subjective, but also subject to change. Just because something is initially viewed by you as a success, does not mean that it will stay that way. Short term success does not always equate to long term success. Conflict resolution is not about cutting corners, it's about hard work and making the tough decisions. The chapter goes on to talk about options to pursue if one-on-one conflict resolution reaches an impasse. This is important to view not as a failure, but just an impasse in the process and to understand that this is not abnormal and there are other options, such as mediation, that can assist in resolving the issue.
One of the keys to whether something is a success or not is whether the relationship is not damaged (or maybe even improves). We all know that sometimes when we "win" we lose a friend.
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