Many companies refuse to face the reality that their businesses are in trouble or that their strategic positions are wrong. Whether a product line is no longer profitable, foreign competition has slowed growth, or technological changes have left them behind, many otherwise well-managed companies hang on for too long to the status quo. In this inflexible posture, managements time and talent go to waste, assets grow sterile, and technology falls behind.

This book will help managers overcome the exit barriers that hamper strategic flexibility. Based on innovative studies of 192 firms within...