When I went on to write my next book, Working With Emotional Intelligence, I wanted to make a business case that the best performers were those people strong in these skills.

Daydreaming incubates creative discovery.

Risk taking and the drive to pursue innovative ideas are the fuel that stokes the entrepreneurial spirit.

Motivation aside, if people get better at these life skills, everyone benefits: The brain doesn't distinguish between being a more empathic manager and a more empathic father.

It is difficult to spread the contagion of excitement without having a sense of purpose and direction.

Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.

The act of compassion begins with full attention, just as rapport does. You have to really see the person. If you see the person, then naturally, empathy arises. If you tune into the other person, you feel with them. If empathy arises, and if that person is in dire need, then empathic concern can come. You want to help them, and then that begins a compassionate act. So I'd say that compassion begins with attention.