Germany's Mittelstand firms have operated profitably for over a century without chasing unicorn metrics. The strategic logic behind their longevity is more transferable than most operators realise, and more relevant right now than it has been in years.

The transformation program is on the roadmap. The broken process costs money this week. Here is the 90-day framework that fixes one without waiting for the other.

The Federal Reserve hit the lights, and the era of free money ended. Interest rates, once an afterthought, are now a primary obstacle, and the cost of debt service is eating into the returns that were once considered guaranteed.