Privately held companies in the middle market ($10M - $1B in revenue) account for 1/3 of the US GDP as well as 44.5 million jobs. Unlike the stock market, we can’t just jump online and see how well they are doing. Today we’re diving into mountains of data on the middle market with former Managing Director of Harvard Business Review and Editor of Fortune.

What You Will Learn In Today's Podcast Interview

Why the top private companies cluster into 3 typologies: investors, innovators, and efficiency experts.

The 7 key factors that contribute to the growth (and are under the owner and management’s control)

How to focus on enterprise value instead of just annual profitability

How privately held companies in the middle market are dealing with uncertainty

How COVID has impacted the likelihood of different types of transitions for middle market companies

Why the middle market consistently outperforms the S&P 500

The 5 “COVID cushions” to manage uncertainty

Why the middle market is where businesses become companies

How an entrepreneur transitions to the CEO role by thinking beyond the lifespan of an individual or company 

 Podast Summary:

Quarter after quarter privately held middle market companies post higher rates of growth and employment than the public or lower markets.

In general, it is hard to understand how middle market companies operate since a majority are privately owned—today Tom Stewart explains how these businesses are doing things differently to grow faster than their larger and smaller peers. 

Tom is the Executive Director of the National Center for the Middle Market. He was also the Editor and Managing Director of Harvard Business Review for six years and participated in the World Economic Forum twelve timesthroughout his career.

Tom and the National Center for the Middle Market are dedicated to researching and understanding the middle market economy. This organization, housed in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, is the only research group that focuses on mid-sized companies. They have surveyed 1,000 midsize companies each quarter for the past ten years, giving them the necessary data to fill in the information gap on the middle third of the private sector.

Here is a link the research on the DNA of the Middle Market

As usual, a group of top tier middle market companies is responsible for a large percentage of this growth. By understanding what contributes to the growth of these companies and what they do differently to consistently outperform their peers, the Center identified 3 types of companies and 7 pillars of growth that are fundamental to their success. 

About the Guest:

Thomas A. Stewart is the Executive Director of the National Center for the Middle Market, the leading source for knowledge, leadership and research on mid-sized companies, based at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Stewart is an influential thought leader on global management issues and ideas: an internationally recognized editor and publisher, authority on intellectual capital and knowledge management, and a best-selling author.

Before joining the National Center for the Middle Market, Stewart served as Chief Marketing and Knowledge Officer for international consulting firm Booz & Company (now called Strategy&), overseei