In an interview with Top 100 entrepreneur Thomas M. Stein.

Top 100 Entrepreneur Thomas M. Stein shares his experiences with us

1. Mr. Stein, you are Germany's most famous music producer, many still know you as a jury member of "DSDS". You have worked your way up from being a publishing apprentice to becoming the head of one of the country's largest media conglomerates. What does one need to have in order to be able to walk a path like yours? One of the most important tasks in life is to recognize opportunities in time, understand them, and deal with them. This means that the next better, higher salary should not always be the decisive factor for starting an activity. It is important to constantly reposition oneself and try to identify a long-term perspective for oneself. All of this is not possible without blood, sweat, and tears. And as in any other area, the essential factors are endurance, consistency, honesty, and of course, a bit of luck is also needed to recognize, strive for, and achieve goals in time. 2. They say "There’s no business like show business". Do you think success concepts from the music industry can be applied one-to-one to other parts of the economy? To immediately dismiss a myth: The music business is as much a sector of the economy as the automotive industry or a screw factory. The main difference is that the last 20 - 30%, which are beyond management tasks, are product-oriented - and there you can indeed say "There's no business like show business". If the industry can learn anything from the music industry, it is primarily to recognize impulses and market needs in time and to deal with them in a way that the consumer accepts, receives, and ultimately buys. If the industry can learn something from the music industry, it is to realize that new technologies can bring dramatic changes, and if one is not, as mentioned above, up to date, one will lose. 3. You have made successful artists like Falco, Peter Maffay, and Alicia Keys. Do you believe that artists are more difficult to lead than office employees? Since the artist is usually the one who ultimately pays the salary of the office employee, it is natural that one must deal with their individualities accordingly. You don't refuel a diesel with gasoline and then wonder why it no longer runs. The needs as economic agents of the artists are therefore an important factor in a company. This does not mean that you do not have to consider the needs of the office employee, on the contrary, it is important that all gears lead to the smooth running of a company. 4. In your career, you have often taken uncomfortable and risky paths. Does being successful always mean being unconventional? No, it does not. But it is important to also consider unconventional paths. Take today's political landscape, for example. Ultimately, the consistent attempt at equalization has led to the fact that if one is 10% unconventional, one suddenly receives high attention, sometimes without substance. In the music industry, however, it is sometimes necessary to think unconventionally to surprise the customer and attract attention. This does not mean that any random photo can be chosen to achieve the goal, but the music-interested end consumer ultimately wants to be convinced by the quality of the artist. 5. Trends are an important part of your industry. How do you manage to recognize them early on? Intuition, experience, or a bit of both? Yes, of course, a bit of both, the rest of the questions, I think, automatically answer question 5. 6. What mentality should a company embody if it wants to be innovative and successful in the long term? Only creative and willing to take risks, or also down-to-earth and sensible? One cannot exist without the other, but in recent years, I have observed that in cycles, companies consistently value creativity or administration. This means that in almost all industries, changes are only unconsciously perceived, but in the background, they steer the direction of the company. Typically, the following happens: a creative person is successful, and an administrative person says it can be done cheaper. After the administrative person takes over the task, it quickly becomes apparent that everything is cheaper but no longer successful because the impulses of creativity are missing. Now the company has to reposition itself in the aforementioned cycle each time and deal with the circumstances. Depending on the size of the company, the difficulty then arises in possibly moving the potentially sluggish flagship in the other direction, and this also means that one must bear high economic risks each time. Conclusion: Creativity and willingness to take risks are not enemies of down-to-earthness or reasonableness, but can be easily guided by a sensitive supervisory board. Unfortunately, supervisory boards are often linked to banks and investors, whose sensitivity sinks in administration. 7. How do you manage to not overlook the human aspect despite all determination and willpower? Empathy is an individual asset that is often perceived differently by everyone. However, it cannot lead to subordinating determination and willpower to empathy. This balance between the two is ultimately a matter of upbringing and experience.