Ever wondered about the companies leading global markets from behind the scenes? Our latest podcast episode features Dr. Hermann Simon, who unveils the mystery behind his book 'Hidden Champions.' These mid-sized, niche companies are more influential than you think. Tune in to learn the strategies that make them successful and how they contribute to the global economy in ways you never imagined. We hope you enjoy the show! Our Guest: Founder and Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners: world's leading pricing advisor with offices in 27 countries https://www.simon-kucher.com/en Inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of fame Visiting professor at Harvard, Stanford, Tokyo Business School, INSEAD etc Co-Author of multiple books including Confessions of a pricing Man, Beating Inflation and Hidden Champions Our Hosts: Follow our updates here: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/⁠⁠ Get in touch with our hosts: Marc Binkley: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/ Vassilis Douros: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/⁠ Timestamps 0:00 - Intro to Hermann Simon 2:40 - Why Germany is so successful in exports? 4:18 - The growth of Hidden Champion research 5:20 - Defining hidden champion companies 7:17 - Apple’s value chain of “deep tech” 9:22 - Niche businesses aren’t always tiny 10:28 - 3 pillars of Hidden Champions strategy 11:25 - Customer proximity is one of their biggest strengths 12:32 - Hidden Champion’s innovation advantage vs. enterprise orgs 16:01 - How niche focus leads to technological advantages 20:49 - Profitability vs. Market Leadership motives of Hidden Champions 21:45 - Pricing strategy of Hidden Champions 22:48 - Niche companies are not without competitors 24:18 - Why Germany produces so many Hidden Champions 29:12 - Competitive advantages - a 22 year overnight success 31:59 - Government’s role in developing supporting eco-systems 34:12 - Talent development & Leadership style of Hidden Champions 37:00 - The role of M&A 39:35 - Innovation processes inside Hidden Champion orgs 42:10 - Take-aways from Hidden Champions 46:55 - Post-pod with V and Marc Background Research & Literature: Simon, H. (1992). Lessons from Germany’s midsize giants. Harvard Business Review, 70, 115–123. Simon, H. (1996). Hidden champions–Lessons from 500 of the world’s best unknown companies, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. M&A has an 50-90% failure rate https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-90-mergers-acquisitions-fail-155000525.html Profit or Growth - You lie in the bed you make https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10422587211059991 https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/worlds-exports-by-country-one-chart/