stars insights

stars Insights
End of Leadership – New Leadership!
20 January 2026

Unknown Unknowns – that is what worries leaders in society and business most. Please, find some food for thought in the following four articles and books:

• Leading Without Control:
  What Hollywood Reveals About Leadership in an Uncertain World, January 2026
  It’s worth to take a close look at the “Hollywood model” of leadership and organization. It offers practical lessons in leading under conditions that many industries face today: uncertainty, a weakening power of hierarchy, and value creation happening across shifting networks.
  
  In such environments, leadership is about creating coherence through a strong vision, trust in expertise, and the ability to integrate diverse contributions. Disruption becomes a modus operandi that encourages recombination and learning. In such contexts, commitment cannot be bought or mandated; it depends on purpose and passion.
  
  As technology, ecosystems, and AI reshape work across sectors, Hollywood’s age-old leadership principles offer valuable lessons in world where we are increasingly forced to act in the context of unknown unknowns.
  
  Roland Deiser is founder and chairman of the Center for the Future of Organizations at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University; stars Alumnus, Los Angeles, United States

• Decision-Dominant Logic: A Leadership Playbook for the Algorithmic Age, November 2025
  Roger Moser, Chairman SatSure & Faculty, University of St.Gallen / Macquarie University, stars Alumnus, Sydney, Australia

• Rethinking Leadership in a G-Zero World, Bulletin of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) Q1/2026
  In an era defined by disruption and uncertainty, boards can no longer rely on the governance models of a predictable, rules-based world. The emergence of a G-Zero order, characterised by fractured geopolitics, rapid technological shifts, and systemic volatility, demands a new kind of leadership. To navigate the unknown unknowns, leaders must cultivate agility, diversity of thought and a culture that prizes imagination and resilience.
  
  This article has been published in the bulletin Q1/2026 of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), Q1/26, wiritten by Toni Schoenenberger, Founder and Executive Chairman of stars, Weinfelden, Switzerland

• The Conversations We Leave Unfinished
  Why Our Tools Fall Short and How AI Can Help, January 2026
  Ralph Schonenbach is a founder, product leader, and author of Relationships Matter, and stars Alumnus, San Francisco, United States

• New Leadership: demanding, rewarding – inevitable
  A challenging journey, January 2026
  Markus Sulzberger: Banker by profession and former president of the Swiss Association of Organization and Management and Lecturer at the Technical University of Munich on Leadership and Selfmanagement, Zurich, Switzerland

• How to Solve Problems in Governance – Theory and Practice of the Governmental Learning Spiral: A Method for Innovation and Learning in Governance, January 2026
  How can everyday political barriers, blockades, and gridlocks be addressed? Drawing on thirty-five years of experience, this book introduces the Governmental Learning Spiral – a structured, interdis-ciplinary method for innovation and learning in governance. Devel-oped through real-world application and grounded in numerous theoretical concepts spanning the social and natural sciences, the method has proven effective in diverse contexts, from constitutional reform and environmental issues to minority rights and public health.
  
  This volume updates the method’s theoretical foundations and offers a practical guide for organizing roundtables, workshops, ­ conferences, and online events. Aimed at both practitioners and scholars, it invites readers to become qualified users of this collabora-tive and transformative tool. Applied by international institutions like the World Bank Group and the Organisation for Economic Co-opera-tion and Development, national and subnational governments, and non-governmental organizations such as the Convivenza Founda-tion, the Governmental Learning Spiral continues to empower those committed to solving problems in governance. Order the book, written by Raoul Blindenbacher an Expert/Consultant in Governance and Public Policy; Managing Director, Blindenbacher Borer Consulting Ltd., Bern, Switzerland

• «Lim Siong Guan – The Best is Yet to Be», October 2025
  This book, a combination of memoirs and deep thinking about leadership, the future, the unknown unknowns, the importance of corporate culture, is a must-read for responsible leaders in politics, business and society. For me, Lim Siong Guan is Mr Singapore who never leaves the job – sometimes on stage, sometimes in the background – to make Singapore a success story.
  Lim Siong Guan is Former Group President, GIC; Former Head of Singapore Civil Service; Senior Advisor, DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group; Member, stars International Board, Singapore
  Link to the book

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and they do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the stars Foundation.