Size is big again. Mountains of debt are still piled up globally from the wave of mergers of the late 90’s. Many are already seeing chances in more mergers and corporate buy-outs. It may well be, that conditions and prices are favorable, but times haven’t really changed.

The notion, that size could be a determining prerequisite for growth and success might be true and yes, there are even markets and branches, where size is a deciding factor. But a general necessity to conduct mergers, to buy out companies in order to gain advantages over the competition, is not worth mentioning.

For us, the attainment and holding of market leadership is not so much a question of size, but of being the best. Because market leadership is based on a head start in performance, it is good to hold a top position on the market, because it creates security for the business as well as its employees and is also the engine for further top performances, which benefits the economy in general. Markets, which are dominated solely by large-scale enterprises, are rarely dynamic.

To be or to become market leader has to be the top priority of each strategy. No, this is by no means utopian. This is condition sine qua non, a prerequisite of each business strategy. Only if this is all clear, a business has a chance to have and hold the best employees, the best products, the best service, the best customers and the best brands.

The successful competition for the grace of the customer is not being led primarily by the biggest businesses, but by the best. Of course, and here comes in the reasoning of the advocate of size, one needs assets in order to generate record performances. And large-scale businesses usually have more access to capital. They do have a point there, but on the other hand, we can see that size in itself already can cost a lot of money. Mediocrity and clumsiness, hierarchies and structures are hindrances on the path to success.

For us, size is not the first objective when it comes to developing a strategy. We accept it, if it is the result of all endeavors to become not first but best. So to speak, a bonus on top of pay.

What does size mean? How large does a business need to be? What size should we strive for and hold?

A business has to be big enough to generate enough earnings to master the future. A business has to be big enough, that it can evolve freely. Businesses who feed banks and investors have a hard time in competition, than competitors who have a healthy financial basis. Size has to be financed and therefore the market strategic objective should be, to become first or at least to be part of the top flight of a branch, which is not necessarily coupled to size.

The internationalization and the globalization of the markets offer great chances for development to the best. Never have the odds been more in favor of the best than today. All of our work is concentrated on contributing to record performances. And the best performance to us is expressed in a market leadership independent of size.