Politicians have long pursued the academization of the professional world and this has now caused a serious shortage of crafters/specialists/technicians. Chambers of Commerce and trade associations appear incapable of promoting initiatives for local and regional collaboration, networking or formation of SME clusters. Craft businesses, small and mid-size enterprises are, of course, occupied with their day-to-day business. Nevertheless, it is well worth their while making an effort to establish and support collaborative initiatives. After all, the future viability of many family enterprises are at stake: small firms that are vital for employment, a local diverse economy, and for the common good of communities.

The GE-Boeing malady began twenty years ago. Boeing is suffering from a managerial disease, at first latent, then progressive, and now perhaps fatal. The 737 MAX crashes were sure signs of a sick management culture. Boeing executives and shareholders will be hoping that too-big-to-fail status and the coronavirus pandemic would justify US government intervention if necessary. This thinkpiece Part 2 investigates the causes and the causers.

Why the Boeing 737 MAX dream machine became a nightmare. This Thinkpiece (Part 1) hosts comments by insiders and observers on the total failure of a once renowned and exemplary corporation.

Worldwide companies should not be citizens of nowhere. They must protect the unity and identity of the company, out of pure self-interest. This is a lasting mandate for executive managers and supervisory boards: to be not only a servant of capital markets, and their short-term interests, but to be a good steward of the company.

Hyperbole and hubris are twins that are usually short-lived. However in the case of GE, a tradition-rich US industrial business, it took an extraordinarily long time before their nimbus faded away. Why that managerial hubris survived for so long but finally had to end are succinctly analyzed in this essay.

Until recently, GE was the star of progressive corporate leadership and was much admired, especially by the capital markets. Now things have fundamentally altered. So new conclusions must be drawn about corporate leadership, also in Europe, and especially by GE’s rival Siemens.

Major corporations have undoubted advantages due to their market power. However apart from a few exceptions they have an inbuilt disadvantage: they are not innovative enough – despite what they want us to believe.

The term "hidden champion" is a title of distinction. There are many hidden champions in Germany, more than any other country — many are small or mid-sized enterprises (Mittelstand) often located well away from major cities. Another hidden champion, a really huge one, Koch Industries, is headquartered on the Great Plains in Kansas, USA. Charles G. Koch, son of the founder, and present CEO, developed a theory of human action based on ideas from the Austrian School of Economics: Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich A. von Hayek and Joseph Schumpeter. This Lesson offers a unique insight into Koch's thinking and beyond.

After the announcement that Joe Kaeser would replace Peter Löscher as CEO of Siemens, the business media combined surprise with even more speculation. Despite the numerous reports and comments, there was little analysis of the consequences for Siemens. This Lesson provides the missing link― and suggests a positive and optimistic future for Siemens.

This is the brief story of what was – second only to EADS – the biggest industrial joint-venture in Europe. The causes of decline are analyzed and lessons learned from the failure of a promising project. It is sobering to witness the final pillar in a traditional German industry collapsing. It is disheartening that hardly anyone cares.