Hidden Champions: Common Lessons Learned on the Path to Success

When conducting a large-scale qualitative research project such as the one presented in this book, two major benefits for the business community arise. First, practitioners get the opportunity to peak into individual success stories and draw conclusions from separate case studies presented in country chapters (Yin 2014; Gummesson 2000). The second major benefit is general conclusions drawn from all the hidden champions involved in this research. These are the main lessons from the project: major findings offering invaluable insights into the formation of a hidden champion. Based on the methodology of meta-analysis of individual case studies, main conclusions were drawn and, according to their similarity, they were categorized into 13 themes (Patton 2015). These themes represent the general lessons of this research and sum up the project’s major findings. It is important to note that these lessons are given by successful hidden champion managers and no reference is made to academic work within the lessons. This has been done on purpose, as the authors’ intention is to let the voices of practitioners be heard. And they do have plenty to say.