He Was Mad… Then We Doubled the Business

Summary

• I learned that it's crucial to evaluate if a product is underpriced and make logical cases for raising prices, as this can significantly improve business economics.
• When facing opposition, like resistance to change from a CEO, it's important to stay calm and explain your reasoning, as it can help others come around to new ideas.
• I found that sometimes resistance comes from personal aversions, like an aversion to authority. Addressing these feelings openly can lead to understanding and collaboration.
• By identifying issues like aversions and confronting them constructively, decisions can be made that benefit the business, such as deciding to raise prices.
• I saw firsthand how decisive actions, like a price increase, can lead to business growth—such as doubling revenue in this case.
• I believe that every experience is a potential learning opportunity, not just from admired figures but from anyone. This openness to learning can significantly accelerate personal and professional growth.

Video

How To Take Action

I would suggest implementing a regular practice of evaluating whether your product or service might be underpriced. This can start with simple research on competitors' pricing and customer feedback. Creating a logical case for a price increase, based on this data, helps in making informed decisions that could improve your business's bottom line.

A good way to handle opposition or resistance, whether in a team or partnership, is by maintaining your calm and explaining your reasoning clearly. When you face resistance, try to understand if it stems from emotional responses, such as an aversion to authority. By addressing these feelings openly, you can foster collaboration and reach decisions that benefit everyone.

If you're met with hesitations, like delaying a needed change, set clear, actionable deadlines and hold yourself and your team accountable. Sometimes decisiveness, like setting a specific date for raising prices, can lead to unexpected growth, as seen with doubled revenue.

Additionally, keep an open mind to learning from all experiences and interactions, not just from those you admire. This mindset of finding lessons in every situation can accelerate your personal and professional growth significantly. It's cost-effective and time-efficient, as you're learning directly from your daily environment and interactions.

Full Transcript

we went in we essentially bought majority of the company everything indicated that the product was underpriced and so we presented our case which was basically we need to raise the price and here's why and here's what the new economics of the business will look like and it was a very wellth thought put together case and the CEO essentially I will just say like lost his and was like absolutely not no I don't want to do this blah blah blah and then were like hey you know like this is why we came in like and then you know finally he calms down he's like okay okay I get it that does make the most iCal sense and then we're like okay when's the date that we can roll this out and we say it's in 2 weeks and what do you know when two weeks comes around oh there's something that he has to take care of oh there's something that happens over here oh and so six weeks go by and you know finally I call up the guy and I'm like listen the like we just need to raise the price like what's going on why is this such a thing as I'm talking to him what I'm listening to is he did not like the fact it wasn't his idea I said so it seems like you have an aversion to Authority and you felt like we were telling you what to do as we talked around it he was like you know what now that you you really painted this picture for me I think you're right I think I actually do have an aversion to Authority and I was like thank you for saying that do you think raising the price is the best decision for the business he said yes I said okay so when would you like to raise the price he said we can do it in two days and then we did and the business doubled if everything that comes to you can be a learning opportunity if you don't need to learn from just only people that you like admire and look up to and want approval from but you can learn from anybody then that opens up a whole new realm for you and you can grow so much faster