SBP 071: Niche Does Not Mean Tiny. With Dr. Hermann Simon

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/