Uneven ripples. Clear strategy.

This is the first and most urgent question you should be asking because everything else, from cost responses over margin recovery to customer communication, depends on the answer.

Tariffs don’t hit everyone the same way. Depending on your supply chain structure, product mix, markets you serve, and competitive positioning, you may be disproportionately affected, or unexpectedly advantaged. Some businesses are discovering that they can pass through costs with little resistance. Others are finding out, often too late, that even modest price movements result in sharp volume declines. And many don’t know where they stand because they’ve never had to test it.

Pricing playbooks shape decisions. They define who takes action, what tools are used, and how quickly the organization can respond. They’re built over years of experience. However, in the wrong context, they can quickly become liabilities.

As CEO, asking this question reveals how your organization is framing the problem. If your teams are treating tariffs as just another flavor of inflation, they’re likely missing critical nuances and applying tools designed for a completely different challenge. This question helps surface whether your pricing response is grounded in relevance or stuck in repetition. 

By the time this question lands on your agenda, you should have already made a key realization: Just because your costs have changed, doesn’t mean your prices should. And just as importantly: your prices may need to change, even if your costs haven’t.

In this environment, reacting to cost is a losing game. It leads to blunt decisions, undermines customer trust, and often misaligns price with perceived value. The companies that succeed are those that understand: price, cost, and value are not synchronized, and never were. This question invites a deeper conversation. 

Pricing in a tariff-driven world requires speed. It also requires precision, oversight, and alignment. These demands can feel contradictory. And yet, they must co-exist.

Some of the most resilient companies we've seen are those where local teams have clear authority to move fast, but with shared intelligence, aligned goals, and connected systems that ensure one market’s gain doesn’t become another’s loss. Without that coordination, one market’s well-intentioned pricing move can undo another’s strategy. Worse, you risk creating pricing inconsistencies that invite arbitrage, damage brand equity, or alienate strategic accounts.

Tariffs introduce rapid, unpredictable cost shifts that legacy pricing systems can’t handle effectively. Forward-thinking companies are using AI to predict tariff impacts, identify hidden pricing power, and adjust strategies in real time.

CEOs must ensure AI isn’t just a reporting tool but a strategic enabler: one that empowers teams to respond swiftly to market fluctuations, protect margins, and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Market disruptions can quickly distort your narrative if you’re not in control of the messaging. CEOs must proactively align teams around a cohesive story that frames business decisions as strategic, intentional moves, not reactive responses. This approach not only preserves brand reputation but also strengthens leadership credibility.

Owning the story means setting the agenda rather than responding to it. A clear, unified narrative turns uncertainty into an opportunity to reinforce strategic direction, communicate value, and maintain market confidence.