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WIRE HARNESS The Underdog of the Industry N O L A N 'S N OT ES 6 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2026 M y dad's favorite cartoon character was "Underdog," one of the very first Ameri- can Saturday morning cartoon shows. When someone asked him for help, Underdog would proudly declare, "Never Fear! Underdog is here!" Over time, I learned that "underdog" had a wider, more socially poignant meaning than just the name of a cartoon superhero. Like so many of us, I developed a love for the real-life underdog, who "comes from behind and leapfrogs everyone else" disruption to the status quo that's quite fun to study or watch if you're lucky enough to be close to one in real time. Some of my favorite examples include Oprah Winfrey, who built her influence by being credible and focused on personal stories, and Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish entrepreneur who founded IKEA. A key part of his winning formula came from his dyslexia, which constrained how his products were designed, packaged, and distributed. I think of Ray Kroc, a middle-aged milkshake ma- chine salesman who built the McDonald's empire on an optimized bill of materials and disciplined assembly. I also love the stories of Soichiro Honda, who treated failure as data, not identity, and Sam Walton, who built the Walmart empire by first tar- geting underserved small towns often considered "unprofitable." He sure proved them wrong. These stories about underdogs kept coming to mind while working on this issue about the challenges facing the wire harness industry. The product is not exactly glamorous and is often treated as an afterthought, but it is most certainly critical to the system. BY N O L A N J O H N S O N , I - C O N N ECT 0 07