The German Federal Statistical Office recently announced the second year of a recession in the German economy, and the third is just around the corner. Many companies are deep in crisis or are already acutely threatened with insolvency. With my new reference book ‘Sustainable management of corporate crises. Immediate help for industrial companies and industry-related …
For many years, open global markets were a key driver for German industry. In the meantime, however, the forces are reversing and making it difficult for German industry to assert itself in global competition. Waiting and hoping, as is often heard, will certainly not be enough. We must act. German industrial companies face a threefold …
The German economy is no longer growing. Our medium-sized industry is falling victim to the globalization that we ourselves drove decades ago. Other sectors will inevitably follow as soon as industrial value creation declines. Will other developed economies follow as well? The prosperity we have achieved with comparatively high wages and social benefits is now …
According to the latest ninth edition of the ZEW study commissioned by the Stiftung Mittelstand, Germany only ranks 18th out of the 21 industrialized nations analyzed in the Family Business Country Index (https://www.familienunternehmen.de/de). The study identifies six sub-indices, namely taxes, labor, regulation, financing, infrastructure, investment and energy. The authors of the ZEW study come to …
At the start of the new year, we are all looking ahead to the challenges that lie ahead. In order to develop suitable business models and strategies, adjust staffing levels and decide on investments, it is important to realistically assess the economic conditions.The global economy appears to be growing at a stable rate of 2.5 …
On Tuesday, 9 August, Christoph Krause recorded an interview about resilience for companies with me as a podcast. You can access this interview, which took place in a circle of Rotarian friends, via the following links: on Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dtd3JI on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AhTXzgon Imagine Rotary: https://bit.ly/3w0gka0or on the Machercast page: https://bit.ly/3bWE9bR Have a listen, and …
The current political and economic situation is also impacting entrepreneurial succession for businesses. Business founders as well as strategic buyers and financial investors are consciously incorporating uncertainties and risks arising from rising financing costs, from high inflation, increasing equity requirements, ESG requirements, fragile raw material supply chains, the increasing significance of the creditworthiness, worsening skills …
The consequences of the disruptions in supply chains triggered by Corona suggested an unbundling of global trade relations and a return to local sourcing. However, the economic strain that grew out of the Corona crisis led to even greater competitive pricing pressures, which have tended to drive many companies to source low-cost input materials and …
As revenues become adequate and operational routine sets in, some established organizations begin to drift. They no longer actively manage their business but increasingly act reactively to customer requests. As a result, gross profits gradually dwindle, earnings become weaker, and ultimately liquidity comes under threat. In such situations, cost-cutting programs may help alleviate the immediate …
Many entrepreneurs and performing executives think “compliance” is something for listed companies. They do not know that medium-sized companies can also benefit from compliance work. In fact, dealing with compliance issues focuses management on the essential issues of running a business. It has been proven that companies that seriously deal with compliance work are much …
