Adolf Merckle, a wealthy German industrialist, committed suicide after making a wrong bet on the direction of Volkswagen’s share price. Source: The Economist

“The desperate situation of his companies caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act, have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life,” a family statement said.


This is not the kind of news one expect to hear concerning successful leadership. What do you think? What main learnings can we take out of this ?