While most of our role models for excellence in management are large or growing enterprises that create highly visible products and services, behind the headlines lies a group of global competitors - unknown even to the general business community - that have attained global market share of over 70 percent. This book reveals the strategies and practices of these low-profile high-performance German companies - small and mid-size niche firms like Webasto, the world leader in sunroofs and auxiliary heating systems for cars, or Hillebrand, the largest shipper of wine in the world. How do they do it? Hidden Champions shows that these top companies share a surprising set of common characteristics: They are all great innovators; many have created their own markets; They have expanded a narrow product focus to meet the needs of customers around the world; They avoid outsourcing, diversification, and strategic alliances (Instead, they have created unmatchable internal competencies); They are extremely close to their customers but have no large marketing departments; They are led by executives who are both authoritarian and participative; and their hallmark is continuity, with almost no employee turnover and an average CEO tenure of 24 years. Sharing the secrets of success of hundreds of these top unknown companies, this groundbreaking and contrarian book lends extraordinary insights into building and defending market leadership. For business leaders everywhere, it is a compelling wake-up call for "back-to-basics" management.