Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla’s best leadership advice: Being optimistic is better than being right

As the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla led the team behind one of the most consequential medical breakthroughs of the modern era: the COVID-19 vaccine that saved millions of lives.

Yet the leadership mindset that guides Bourla as he runs a nearly $150 billion pharmaceutical giant isn’t just about science or strategy. It’s about psychology—specifically, balancing optimism with realism.

“The optimists have the vision,” Bourla said on the Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry podcast.