I first set out the core elements of the Escondido Framework in a paper in May 1980 for Steven C. Brandt’s seminar on strategic management while studying for an MBA at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and living in Escondido Village on the Stanford campus.
I have been developing and testing these ideas ever since : as consultant across a variety of industries with McKinsey & Company and later with the Brackenbury Group and The Chambers; while undertaking research with the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre; in board roles in the private sector including chairing a retail chain, in the public sector including chairing a hospital in the UK National Health Service; and in a variety of not for profit appointments.
The framework has been shared from time to time in other projects, including Tomorrow’s Company while it was under the sponsorship of the Royal Society of Arts, and most recently with the Cranfield Institute Renewing Capitalism initiative.
I have received input and encouragement over the years from a variety of critical friends, particularly David Pitt-Watson, Andrew Campbell, Zena Lutrin, Gary Ward, Abigail Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling. It continues to be work in progress and will benefit from continued scrutiny, challenge and fresh contributions.
A copy of my 1993 paper for the RSA Tomorrow’s Company project can be downloaded here: Understanding the Nature of Commercial Companies 1993.
Tom Hayhoe