SMP LeaderTalks

#159 | Mysteries of leadership

SMP LeaderTalks

19. August 2026

Georgiy Michailov meets Prof. Dr. Hermann Simon

On leadership arrogance, serendipity, and success in life.

1h 19 Min

“Leadership remains a mysterious phenomenon that cannot be predicted with certainty.”

Despite decades of leadership research, no one can reliably predict who will fail as a leader and who will succeed. Even Nestlé and BP recently had to dismiss their CEOs and admit to making poor decisions. Why is it that even experienced board members so often make mistakes when selecting their top executives? And what can we still learn from fifty years of observation?

“Do the job you’re currently doing to the very best of your ability. Then you’ll be presented with new opportunities.”

Over the course of five decades, Prof. Dr. Hermann Simon has collected some three million characters’ worth of notes, ideas, and observations, from which he has distilled the essence of his book “Simon Says”. In a conversation with Georgiy Michailov, he explains why he sees Elon Musk as a mix of genius and madness and why the German auto industry has grossly misjudged the electric car hype.

*Video only in German

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