Yannick Schilly’s new book argues industrial firms must transform before crisis hits

Yannick Schilly’s THE SUPERFIT COMPANY launched Oct. 30 and was unveiled to about 160 industry leaders in Mason, Ohio, as the book argues that industrial companies fail when they treat transformation like a one-time project. The book packages Schilly’s framework for building change readiness into a repeatable operating system for manufacturers.

Why it matters: - Roughly 70% of industrial transformations fail, and that rate has barely changed in 30 years. - The book argues the real problem is not technology, but companies waiting to transform until a crisis forces the move. - For industrial leaders, the takeaway is blunt: build the capacity for change while the business is still healthy.

What happened: - Yannick Schilly released THE SUPERFIT COMPANY: Why Industrial Winners Never Stop Transforming on Oct. 30 through ALTIX Press. - The book was unveiled on Oct. 29 at the 2026 Global Leaders Forum & Industrial Excellence Honors at the Cincinnati Open Event Center in Mason, Ohio. - About 160 senior industrial leaders attended the event. - The forum’s themes were Connect, Inspire, Excel. - Fourteen manufacturers received the 2026 Industrial Excellence Honors at the event. - Serge Joris, president and CEO of the Frigoglass Group, delivered the keynote. - Joris also wrote the book’s foreword.

The details: - Schilly writes from an operator’s perspective after more than three decades leading factories and supply chains across Europe, Asia and the Americas. - His background includes 15 years with a leading German industrial technology group, five years in China leading a plant turnaround, and four years as chief operating officer for the NAFTA region. - Schilly is president and CEO of ALTIX CONSULTING, a Cincinnati-based management consulting firm. - The book lays out seven principles organized as the Superfit Wheel. - It also introduces the Four Clocks, a plain-language measure of organizational fitness. - The framework includes a rapid-reset operating model designed to bank results in 12- to 24-week windows. - Schilly includes a “crisis vaccine” concept aimed at building engineering resilience before pressure arrives. - The book’s view on AI centers on one rule: organizational intelligence before artificial intelligence. - Joris wrote that the book “does more than explain transformation” and is “an invitation to leaders” to take the first steps toward a new organizational vision. - Early endorsements came from leaders in industry and academia, including Dr. Jay Lee of the University of Maryland, Rob Connelly of Henny Penny and Soojin Do of Sun Taiyang Co., Ltd. - Schilly says companies that win are not lucky or fearless; they are fit because they train the capacity to transform while they are healthy.

Between the lines: - The book is positioned less as a business book and more as a management system for recurring transformation. - The framing suggests a shift away from one-off change programs toward continuous organizational conditioning. - By tying transformation to fitness, Schilly is arguing that readiness is a discipline, not a rescue plan.

What’s next: - The book is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook through Amazon, major online booksellers and IngramSpark distribution. - The hardcover ISBN is 979-8-9970398-0-6. - The paperback ISBN is 979-8-9970398-1-3. - Readers can find the book, the Superfit Score diagnostic and the companion toolkit at more information. - An audiobook edition is in production. - ALTIX Press says review copies, interviews, cover art, figures and event photography are available on request. - Schilly is available for interviews in English, French and German.

The bottom line: - THE SUPERFIT COMPANY argues industrial winners do not wait for disruption to force change; they train for transformation before they need it.