Despite repeated assurances from the nation's economic managers, Pakistan's journey towards a stable economic recovery appears to be lost at sea. The central question emerging is whether the country's well-intentioned turnaround efforts are missing the mark by neglecting its fundamental economic strengths, resulting in a frustrating pattern of one step forward and two steps back.
The Global Lesson: Success Built on Core Strengths
History offers a clear lesson. Over the last fifty years, nearly all major economic success stories, including the rise of China, were built by first capitalising on a nation's inherent economic strengths. Value addition and diversification followed naturally only after these core foundations were firmly addressed. This principle is mirrored in the corporate world, where leading global companies are increasingly adopting product-driven management structures, focusing only on areas where they can be market leaders.
A striking example unfolded between parts of 2024 and 2025, when five iconic American corporations—Nike, Starbucks, Boeing, Intel, and Target—replaced their CEOs. Business analysts noted a common thread beyond typical turnaround stories: headlines declared these companies had "lost their way and focus." In a recent research paper, John Iwata, a former IBM executive and current Yale fellow, discusses this phenomenon of organisations forgetting their core identity and the imperative to rediscover it.
Pakistan's Parallel Malaise: Erosion of Core Identity
National economies are not so different from corporations. Experts argue that Pakistan's economy is suffering from this very malaise: a disconnection from its core identity and strengths. The consequence is a dual crisis: an unprecedented erosion in the agricultural sector and rapid deindustrialisation. These sectors were historically central to Pakistan's economic model, providing sustainable employment, alleviating poverty in a populous nation, and fostering growth that synergised with the country's geographical and demographic advantages.
Iwata's research suggests that the standard turnaround toolkit—restructuring, portfolio changes, process redesign—fails when an entity has lost touch with its core. What is required instead is a process he terms "re-founding." This concept involves a deliberate return to foundational principles, not out of nostalgia, but to distinguish what must endure from what needs to evolve.
The Insidious Nature of Economic Drift
Drift occurs through a series of executive decisions that collectively pull an economy away from its foundational identity. Ironically, leadership changes can accelerate this drift by introducing competing priorities and a new operational culture. Leaders might focus on measurable financial outcomes while overlooking the degradation of intangibles like operational authenticity and a business-conducive environment.
The corporate parallels are clear. Boeing's trajectory shifted after its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, bringing in executives who prioritised financial optimisation over engineering excellence. Starbucks drifted as rapid growth and pandemic adaptations diluted its original vision of a "third place," replacing barista interaction with automated machines and prioritising pickup orders over community space. Each decision made operational sense in isolation, but together they eroded what made these companies unique.
Re-Founding vs. Nostalgia: The Path Forward for Pakistan
Re-founding is not about longing for the past. Economies often falter by clinging to outdated successes. The required relationship with the past is about discerning enduring principles. The classic example is Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997. He did not just impose a new strategy; he rediscovered the original ethos of empowering creativity through intuitive design and reinterpreted it for a new era.
For Pakistan, this framework raises critical questions. The current approach, where economic managers are altering the operative environment through new legislation, may be counterproductive if implemented without a clear connection to core strengths. While individual policy steps might seem logical, collectively they risk being damaging. This is evidenced by a beeline of multinationals exiting Pakistan and the rapid closure of domestic manufacturing units, clear indicators of flawed economic policy decisions.
The challenge is significant. A re-founding strategy must move beyond rhetoric and embed purpose into operational systems, ensuring traditional stakeholders are not excluded. As disruption accelerates globally, Pakistan's leadership must help the economy remember its real and sustainable strengths in agriculture and industry, or risk remaining perpetually adrift.
