Why Pricing Matters
August 28th, 2008 by adminBy Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
While I welcome a passionate discussion on the topic of pricing, the simple truth is that most executives avoid the topic altogether. Let me be clear; Pricing Matters…Do you have a pricing strategy, or do you set your prices by some ethereal or arbitrary method? It is my opinion that issues surrounding pricing decisions are root level drivers to a successful business strategy. That being said, I’m always amazed at how many corporations and professional advisors seem to pull their pricing out of thin air. Moreover, of those that actually go through some form of disciplined process, many of them seem to believe that once they have set the initial pricing that their job is finished and that the topic of pricing requires no further attention…nothing could be further from the truth. In today’s post I share my thoughts on how to develop a sound pricing strategy…
The need for a sound employment agreement is not something to be trivialized. I recently received an e-mail from a CEO who was unceremoniously “asked” to resign by his board of directors. He asked me to author a post on the value of employment agreements in hope of preventing other CEOs from unnecessarily subjecting themselves to a forced resignation scenario. So, in today’s post I’ll outline a few items meant to help you protect your career longevity… 
Clarity Matters…while clarity may have become a lost art, understanding the importance of clarity is nonetheless critical to your success in business. Have you ever finished listening to an explanation from a purported subject matter expert only to wonder what it was they just said? It has been my experience that the more vague, general, or ambiguous an explanation, the less command of the subject matter the person doing the explaining likely possesses. It is one thing to toss around the latest buzz-words, but it is quite another thing to actually know what they mean and have the ability to correctly apply them. In today’s post I’m going to reveal the tricks of those who practice what I call “the black art of confusion” propagated by the ruse of ambiguity…
Today’s Myatt on Monday’s question was posed by a new CEO asked: “Do you have any tips for first-time chief executives of a start-up company that would allow for a faster and more effective transition?” As a top CEO Coach virtually all of the advice and counsel I provide to CEOs is just as applicable to first-time CEOs as it is to tenured executives. Moreover, while start-up and early stage companies certainly have unique issues, great executive leadership is really not life-cycle centric. While I could suggest you buy a copy of my book, or read other posts contained on this blog (not bad suggestions by the way), I thought it might be interesting to see how other CEOs would answer the question. In the text that follows, I have provided a variety of answers to today’s question, which have been put forth by a number of different C-level executives and directors… 
Want to recession proof your business? Increase your marketing expenditures. If you’re the short-sighted CEO who cuts back on marketing, branding, and advertising budgets in an attempt to reduce costs, shame on you…Top CEOs recognize that economic slow-downs are not all doom-and-gloom. In fact, the smartest executives understand that swimming upstream against the conventional wisdom of the risk adverse can actually create significant opportunities for growth. By making heavy operating investments into marketing, advertising, business development, and sales initiatives, the aggressive enterprise can create significant competitive separation during a time when many are pulling back on such expenditures. In today’s post I’ll make the business case for applying contrarian thinking by becoming very bullish in the face of a waning economy…
As much as you wish it might be so, due diligence is really not an optional consideration. Have you ever made a decision based upon what you thought was a thorough understanding of all pertinent information only to find out after the fact that you didn’t know as much as you thought you did? It’s not much fun to find yourself on the wrong side of the information gap…Incorrect data, omissions, information that is biased or skewed, misrepresentations, misunderstandings or any number of other scenarios that lead to the creation of information gaps can be very costly in today’s business environment. In today’s post I’ll discuss the critical nature due diligence…
I was recently asked if I would share my insights on some of today’s high-profile CEOs. I assume that the thought underpinning the inquiry was that since the majority of my working life is spent coaching and mentoring CEOs, or evaluating and assessing CEO performance for boards of directors and investors, that I might be able to provide some insights on their performance. I thought this might be an interesting exercise, so today’s post will be the inaugural piece in a new category entitled CEO Profiles. I’m going to attempt to provide a balanced scorecard approach in reviewing the performance of the lucky CEOs profiled so that there will be actionable takeaways from each assessment. You are invited to send me the names of CEOs that you’d like to see profiled, and if they’re not a current or past client I’ll add them to the queue. Today’s Profile…Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft.
CEOs need to realize that their success or failure is not a random act. Top CEOs exhibit the right combination of skill sets, competencies, leadership aptitude, and decisioning ability, and failed CEOs simply do not. Having success as a CEO is little more than a matter of understanding where and when to apply leverage to highest and best use activities. In today’s post we’re going back to “CEO 101″ to get a bit of a refresher course on things you should already know, but that you most probably not applying correctly on a day-to-day basis… 
Is the customer really always right? How far should a company go to satisfy their clientele or customer base? What is the lost opportunity cost assoicated with customer churn? Is there a point when satisfying the customer is actually harmful to the enterprise, or as the saying goes, is the customer always right? In today’s blog post I’ll share my opinion as to the validity of this statement and where to draw the line… 
Show me a CEO with a bad attitude and I’ll show you a poor leader. While this sounds simple enough at face value, I have consistently found that one of the most often overlooked leadership attributes is that of a positive attitude. As a CEO, how can you expect to inspire, motivate, engender confidence, and to lead with a lousy attitude? The simple answer is that you can’t…it just won’t work. CEOs with bad attitudes will not only fail to engage their workforce, but they will quickly find themselves shown the door as their attitude’s impact on performance becomes visible to the board. In today’s post I’ll examine the importance of CEOs having a positive attitude…