Executive roles are not great for creatives who like to ponder the big questions of the universe. I’m reminded of a recent Star Wars novel by Claudia Gray, Master & Apprentice, where Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn is offered a spot on the Jedi Council while he is still training Obi-Wan Kenobi in the years before The Phantom Menace. Qui-Gon is torn. He doesn’t feel like a good mentor to young Kenobi, and the role on the Council is highly prestigious — a dream come true for any Jedi.
Read MoreEmpathy can make you new friends, turn sworn enemies into faithful allies, and break cycles of endless conflict and contempt. For those least inclined to seek it, the outstretched hand of empathy can light the pathway to redemption. The Star Wars saga is a redemption story, only made possible by characters brave enough to practice empathy. In politics, nothing could be more radical.
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