Strategic Movements: April 2018

timjsmith

Tim J. Smith, PhD
Founder and CEO, Wiglaf Pricing

Published April 26, 2018

General Mills Price Hike

General Mills; maker of Yoplait, Cheerios, Wheaties, Betty Crocker, Haagen-Dazs, Gold Medal flour, Annie’s pasta, amongst other popular brands; plans to raise prices.  Stated Reasons: rising trucking costs (up ~20$ over same time last year) and higher ingredient costs.  Since this is real, expect Post, Kellogg’s, Campbell’s, and Mondelez to be fast followers.

Making Business Transformations (Including Pricing Focused Ones) Work

”… Think of value generation and leadership development as the chariot wheels that support a transformation, and the quest as the horse that provides direction and momentum. Alignment of the three is critical if you want to reach your destination.”  N. Anand and Jean-Louis Barsoux, “What Everyone Gets Wrong about Change Management,” Harvard Business Review.

When Working Global, Culturally Adapt

A beauty of our human condition is our differences: learning to contribute our unique talents while benefiting from those of others. Yet misunderstandings often stand in our way. Erin Meyer took a step to clarifying that in examining the cultural-norm responses to leadership between attitudes towards decision making rights (top-down v consensual) and attitudes towards authority (hierarchical v egalitarian).  Good work Erin.  Now what should I do in China or Saudi Arabia regarding pricing decisions when research has clearly demonstrated the need for some level of consensually aligned decisions?  My field has become more nuanced.  Erin Meyer, “Being the Boss in Brussels, Boston, and Beijing”, Harvard Business Review July-August 2017, v95.4, p70.

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About The Author

timjsmith
Tim J. Smith, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Wiglaf Pricing, an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Economics at DePaul University, and the author of Pricing Done Right (Wiley 2016) and Pricing Strategy (Cengage 2012). At Wiglaf Pricing, Tim leads client engagements. Smith’s popular business book, Pricing Done Right: The Pricing Framework Proven Successful by the World’s Most Profitable Companies, was noted by Dennis Stone, CEO of Overhead Door Corp, as "Essential reading… While many books cover the concepts of pricing, Pricing Done Right goes the additional step of applying the concepts in the real world." Tim’s textbook, Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, & Establishing Price Structures, has been described by independent reviewers as “the most comprehensive pricing strategy book” on the market. As well as serving as the Academic Advisor to the Professional Pricing Society’s Certified Pricing Professional program, Tim is a member of the American Marketing Association and American Physical Society. He holds a BS in Physics and Chemistry from Southern Methodist University, a BA in Mathematics from Southern Methodist University, a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and an MBA with high honors in Strategy and Marketing from the University of Chicago GSB.

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