No time to wait

In a famous scene from the film Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence and his companion are sitting in the desert when they see a tiny black spot on the horizon. They can't see what it is, and they don't know what to do – so they simply wait. Slowly, the black spot becomes an animal, then a camel, and then, finally, a camel with a man riding on it. They are caught completely unprepared as the man takes out a gun and shoots Lawrence's companion. Their mistake was to wait and see, while any other move would have been better. In the same way, leaders in government and in large organisations – whether the United Nations or the G20, the International Monetary Fund or the Eurogroup, the human rights community or the German, French, or Italian governments – can no longer sit still, waiting until everything becomes clear, and it's too late to act.

Meanwhile, an article published in 2017 that barely caught the public’s attention reminds us of the power of empathy to help leaders navigate today's fast-paced global environment of uncertainty and turbulence. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, happened to be at an event in San Antonio with Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas when a snowstorm resulted in the cancellation of their flights back to Washington. They decided to rent a car together and drive the 600 miles back to Washington while holding an ad hoc citizens’ dialogue via social media during their journey.

Over the hours of their trip, thousands of people joined in via Facebook and Twitter and followed their adventure. The two politicians engaged in deep conversation, revealing their different points of view on many issues, but also discovering common ground and shared beliefs and values.