????公司戰(zhàn)略的轉(zhuǎn)變則是另一種普遍的情況。某產(chǎn)品可能曾是公司業(yè)務(wù)的核心，不過幾年后情況發(fā)生了變化。權(quán)衡競爭形勢和市場需求同樣重要。亞利桑那州斯科茨代爾的高管培訓(xùn)和咨詢公司Pragmatic Marketing的教師柯爾斯頓?巴策說：“作為一家公司，如果我們做的事情與我們的戰(zhàn)略毫不相干，那最好給出一個好的理由。”

????其中一個選擇是撤回投資，把產(chǎn)品的所得利潤全部投入其他項目，讓它緩慢自然地消亡。不過把一個產(chǎn)品扔在那里也會讓客戶感到疑惑，也會導(dǎo)致那些可以為下一個大項目工作的員工分心。

????還有一種方法，那就是迅速抽身。不過由于需要進(jìn)行所有必要的考慮，迅速也只是相對而言。公司可能會在客戶合同中同意將來幾年繼續(xù)提供該產(chǎn)品。監(jiān)管問題可能也是這樣和財政部門也需要跟進(jìn)，以更改賬單，調(diào)整員工的銷售目標(biāo)。

????給顧客足夠的提示十分重要。比如，一家軟件公司可能承諾在接下來一年中繼續(xù)支持它的產(chǎn)品，但不會再繼續(xù)更新。失去客戶在所難免。為了讓損失最小化，公司可以向客戶提供后續(xù)產(chǎn)品的免費更新，同時幫助他們完成轉(zhuǎn)換。如果要徹底從某項業(yè)務(wù)中脫身，公司也可以推薦替代性產(chǎn)品。

????當(dāng)然，公司不是一定要砍掉不想要的產(chǎn)品，他們可以把它賣給其他公司。企業(yè)界這樣的例子不計其數(shù)。比如，EBay）2005年以26億美元的價格收購了在線呼叫服務(wù)Skype。EBay在收購之后沒有什么大的作為，于是在2009年將Skype上的大部分股權(quán)賣給了一群投資者，投資者后來又把它轉(zhuǎn)手賣給了微軟（Microsoft）。

????巴策曾在富士通（Fujitsu）和培生（Pearson）等許多科技公司擔(dān)任高管，多年來他曾砍掉或出售了大量產(chǎn)品。他說：“某種產(chǎn)品對你的公司業(yè)務(wù)沒什么用，并不意味著它也不適合其他公司。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

????A shift in corporate strategy is another common rationale. A product that was once central to a business may no longer be after a few years. Weighing the competitive landscape and market needs is also important. "If we're doing something that's so far removed from our strategy as a business, we better have a good reason," says Kirsten Butzow, an instructor with Pragmatic Marketing, an executive training and consulting firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.

????One option is to pull back investment and let the product die a slow, natural death while using any profits to fund other projects. But leaving a product limping along can also confuse customers and distract employees who could be working on the next big thing.

????Pulling the plug more quickly is the other alternative. Quick is a relative term, however, because of all the necessary considerations. Companies may have agreed in customer contracts to supply a product for years into the future. Regulatory issues may also apply. Lawyers need to get involved early in the process and, if it's a key product, so should the marketing team and finance to make billing changes and adjust employee sales goals.

????Giving customers ample notice is critical. A software company, for example, may promise to continue to support its products for a year, but that it will no longer upgrade them. Losing customers is always a possibility. To minimize defections, a company can offer customers free upgrades to any successor product and help them make the switch. If getting out the business completely, a company can suggest alternatives.

????Of course, companies don't necessary have to shut down unwanted products and can instead try to sell them to another business. The corporate world is littered with examples. EBay (EBAY), for example, agreed to acquire Skype, the online calling service, in 2005 for $2.6 billion. After failing to do much with the acquisition, eBay decided in 2009 to unload most of its stake in Skype to a group of investors that later resold the business to Microsoft (MSFT).

????Butzow, who has shut down and sold a number of products over the years while an executive at various technology companies like Fujitsu and Pearson, says, "Just because something is not working for your business doesn't mean it's not highly applicable to another."