Top 6 – February 2014
Published February 5, 2014
“I don’t subscribe to the notion that companies exist to create value strictly for their shareholders. I think they are there to create value for their customers, and that gets to the mission of the company. And ultimately, doing that, they create value for society.
If they forget about that, they have no legitimacy, they have no right to exist, no matter how much short-term shareholder value they create. And the shareholder value is misunderstood. It comes as a result of great value for your customers that leads to growth, and that comes from engaged employees that are innovative and provide superior customer service.”
Bill George, Harvard Business School professor and former Medtronic CEO, December 2013.
- Stop waiting for markets to improve or governments to take action. Beowulf executives make the world better by taking positive actions now on something people care about now.
- If you aren’t solving needs, customers and employers won’t need you. Beowulf executives solve challenges.
- If customers don’t perceive and acknowledge the value, the value doesn’t exist. Beowulf executives generate value.
- A Beowulf’s job is to detect what customers need and then identify a profitable route to serve those needs.
- If you want to do something good for society, get a job. Beowulf executives serve the public good by creating value for their customers.
- And, if you can’t find a job, make your own and become a Beowulf.
About The Author
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.