&gt; But in retrospect I can see that my touchiness in that moment probably cost me tens of thousands of dollars.<p>I don&#x27;t know if it&#x27;s a side effect of living in a western society, but I see people make this kind of mistake all the time in the corporate world -- i.e. assuming that behind it all there&#x27;s some neutral arbiter who will square any conflicts that arise in the workplace.  In reality, if you make your self look like an ass in front of the wrong person, at the wrong point in the fiscal year, it affects your bonus &#x2F; promotion &#x2F; etc., and you never get that back, plus it&#x27;s used to factor into every reward you get until you leave that company.  Definitely better to be diplomatic.