Y-SIM’s Refounding concept introduced in The Economist
Refounding, the practice of restoring and evolving the essential character of companies that have lost their way, was featured in The Economist.
Featured in the November 20 Bartleby column of The Economist, the new management concept is based on a study led by Jon Iwata, co-founder and practice lead of the Yale Program on Stakeholder Innovation and Management (Y-SIM).
Drawing from more than 200 CEO and CXO interviews, Y-SIM has found that many iconic companies face a common problem: after years of incremental decisions — often reasonable on their own — organizations lose connection to their core identity. Traditional turnaround tools such as restructuring or portfolio shifts often fail to address this deeper issue.
Iwata describes essential character as a mixture of the enduring need the company was founded to serve and its distinctive capabilities to meet that need, which gives the organization competitive advantage.
The Economist highlights recent examples of leaders at Nike, Starbucks, Boeing, and Lego who are rediscovering their company’s essential character as a step toward reconnecting with stakeholders and charting relevant paths for growth.
As companies face unprecedented volatility and high expectations from multiple stakeholders, the attention from The Economist signals that Refounding is an emerging practice shaping the next era of corporate leadership.
Read Y-SIM's recently released paper: When Companies Forget Who They Are — The Work of Refounding.
