How it works
The Restate Framework, as software.
A six stage method for finding the story already inside an organisation, and saying it clearly enough that the right people listen, believe and act. Restated runs it on your story, then builds every piece of work on top of it.
Where it came from
A decade inside energy, one pattern.
Foundation Collective has spent a decade filming and writing inside the energy industry: more than 2,295 hours on film, across 62 organisations and 18 countries. The same pattern kept repeating. Good organisations doing meaningful work, unable to explain themselves clearly enough for the people who needed to hear it.
The Restate Framework is the method that came out of that work. It is not a brand voice template, a content plan or a set of personas. It is a way of finding what is already true about an organisation and saying it so the right audiences recognise it as true.
The six stages
Each stage builds on the last.
By Trajectory the picture is complete. The diagnostic scores your story against all six, and every piece Restated makes is checked against them before you see it.
Origin
Why were you built, and why now?
Why does this organisation exist? Strong Origin work names a specific catalyst, a clear founder or moment of decision, and an honest account of what was different about how they chose to respond. Weak Origin work is generic, abstract, or interchangeable with peers.
More on Origin from Foundation CollectiveTension
What is nobody saying out loud?
The friction your organisation lives inside: the gap between how things are and how they should be, which you exist to close. Strong Tension names a specific, current frustration that customers, investors or insiders would recognise as true. Avoid the generic line that the energy transition is hard.
More on Tension from Foundation CollectiveCredibility
Why should anyone believe you?
What proof backs the story? Outcomes you can count, endorsements, lived experience. Strong Credibility is concrete and citable. Weak Credibility makes claims without evidence. The audience is the protagonist, and you earn attention through understanding plus proof.
More on Credibility from Foundation CollectiveVoices
Who should tell it?
Who speaks for this organisation, and what makes their authority real? Strong Voices shows a defined cast of credible people, each with a recognisable point of view. Weak Voices is faceless. Your story lives in your people. Let them tell it.
More on Voices from Foundation CollectiveArchitecture
How does it compound?
How is the story built for the audiences that matter? Different audiences need different ways in and different proof. Strong Architecture names its audiences and the question each one is asking. Weak Architecture treats everyone the same. Content without a system is noise.
More on Architecture from Foundation CollectiveTrajectory
Where is it heading?
Where is the story going? What does this organisation want to be known for in 18 to 36 months? Strong Trajectory commits to a direction with consequences. Weak Trajectory is aspiration without substance. Content without a destination has no gravity.
More on Trajectory from Foundation CollectiveSeven checks
Nothing ships until it passes.
We apply these to every piece of work before it leaves the building, and Restated applies them to every piece it makes. The diagnostic uses the same checks to score yours.
- Is the audience the protagonist?
- Is the tension named?
- Is credibility earned or claimed?
- Does it sound like a person?
- Could another company publish this with a logo swap?
- Does it serve a commercial outcome?
- Does it serve the trajectory?
Free, about 20 minutes
See how your story scores.
Answer the questions our strategists ask in the room. You get a score for every stage and the three things to fix first. Free, no card needed.