????絕境之中需要絕招。這句話用在搖搖欲墜的休閑游戲公司Zynga上就意味著換上一位新CEO。本周早些時候，公司宣布長期擔任CEO的創始人馬克?平克斯即將卸任，接替者為微軟（Microsoft）互動業務的前總裁丹?馬特里克，他所負責的產品包括最暢銷的Xbox電視游戲主機。

????馬特里克在寫給Zynga員工的一封信中寫道：“Zynga是一家很了不起的公司，只是尚未開發出全部潛力。”也許吧。盡管依靠開心農場（Farmville）等產品引起過轟動，Zynga迅速取得了成功，但它最近的許多游戲卻表現不佳，導致營收令人大失所望，公司不得不裁員。上個月，Zynga裁員18%，其中包括“你猜我畫“（Draw Something）制作組OMGPOP的大部分成員。據悉，公司曾在去年早些時候為這支團隊支付2億美元。

????現在，Zynga有了一位新領袖馬特里克，他過去的經歷已經證明他有能力使公司重新煥發生機。Xbox 360已經連續29個月雄踞全美游戲主機暢銷榜第一。而馬特里克2007年從美國藝電公司（Electronic Arts，EA）加入微軟時，Xbox業務尚未實現盈利。也正是當年，硬件瑕疵導致24%的Xbox 360主機發生了故障。為了延長產品保修期，賠償不滿的消費者，微軟支付了11.5億美元。

????馬特里克起草并成功實施了一項三年計劃，扭轉了不利局面。這個計劃包括引進新人才，投資如微軟Kinect這樣的新技術。Kinect是全身體感控制器，在這款主機銷量回升的過程中居功至偉。確實，至少一名微軟高管表示，沒有馬特里克，就沒有Kinect。馬特里克組建了Kinect團隊，招募了外來人才，如曾擔任創意總監的公司副總裁庫都?圖蘇諾達，還設定了一系列目標，如降低成本以達到消費者可以接受的價位。謙虛的馬特里克在2011年對《財富》（Fortune）表示：“我讓團隊參與進來，尋找我們要創造的愿景，保證我們有著強大的文化和特征，保證我們在融合藝術形式和創造技術的標志時，能感到樂在其中。”

????微軟互動娛樂業務部門前COO和CFO丹尼斯?杜肯將馬特里克比作部門變動中的中流砥柱。不過更重要的，馬特里克還是相對默默無聞的先知。杜肯當時告訴《財富》：“很多人能夠看清趨勢，但唐不僅看清了趨勢，還組建了團隊，把自己的愿景付諸實踐。他就這樣改變了我們業務的發展軌跡。”

????Desperate times call for desperate measures. In the case of flailing casual gaming company Zynga (ZNGA), that meant installing a new CEO. Earlier this week, the company announced founder and long-time CEO Mark Pincus would step down, making way for Don Mattrick, the former president of Microsoft's (MSFT) Interactive Entertainment unit, which includes the best-selling Xbox video game console.

????"Zynga is a great business that has yet to realize its full potential," Mattrick said in a letter to Zynga employees. Perhaps. Though Zynga rose to success with hits like Farmville, many newer releases have underperformed, resulting in disappointing revenues and layoffs. Last month, the company laid off 18% of its workforce, including most of the team from Draw Something-maker OMGPOP, for which the company reportedly paid $200 million early last year, according to reports.

????In Mattrick, Zynga has a new leader with a proven track record for revitalizing ailing properties. The Xbox 360 has remained the number-one selling console in the U.S. for 29 months consecutively. But when Mattrick joined Microsoft in 2007, from games publisher Electronic Arts (EA), the Xbox business was unprofitable. That was also the year hardware defects caused up to 24% of all Xbox 360 consoles to fail, leading to a $1.15 billion write-off to extend warranties and reimburse disgruntled owners.

????Mattrick drafted and successfully executed a three-year plan to turn the business around, which included hiring new talent and investing in technologies like Microsoft Kinect, the full-body, motion-sensing controller which was largely credited with driving console sales up. Indeed, at least one Microsoft executive has said that without Mattrick, Kinect wouldn't exist. Mattrick assembled the Kinect team, recruited outside talent like creative director-turned-corporate vice president Kudo Tsunoda, and set goals such as reducing costs to reach that affordable consumer price point. "I keep the team engaged, to find a vision for what we're going to create, make sure we have a strong culture and identity, and have fun blending our art form with the signs of creating technology," a humble Mattrick told Fortune in 2011.

????Dennis Durkin, former COO and CFO for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, credited Mattrick as a stabilizing force amid the department changes. But more importantly, Mattrick was a relatively unsung visionary. "A lot of people can see trends, but Don also formed a team that could execute against a vision," Durkin told Fortune then. "That's where he's really changed the trajectory of our business."