On August 20, 2009
When Does Your Product Need to Die?
Business people conduct their own “death panels” everyday by asking, “Is this product past its prime? Should this service be diminished? What’s in R&D that can re-eenergize our sagging sales?” But as a recent NYT article written by Harvard Business School professor Mary Tripsas points out, companies may be wise to figure out how to keep older products on life support rather than ushering them to a premature death. “Companies can proactively manage the innovation endgame. Continuing improvements to extend the life of technology, particularly given the attractive margins on the old, can be a wise business decision — and not necessarily a reflection of narrow-mindedness.” One way to do this, says her HBS colleague Daniel Snow, is to take…
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