{44}

The Pope

When I heard the news, I couldn’t believe it: on February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, the first Pope to do so in six hundred years. As a devout Catholic and lifetime student and practitioner of great people decisions, I instantly had a crazy thought: Perhaps this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Maybe I could influence the appointment of his successor!

My first idea was to travel to the Vatican in person to meet with the 118 electing cardinals before the selection process, but I quickly learned that, challenging logistics aside, that sort of interaction is forbidden under conclave rules. Plan B was to try to reach them through the media and my professional network instead. I promptly wrote ...

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