80+ Case Studies of Progressive Organizations

Written by Joost Minnaar - September 01, 2025

Last year, we were challenged by Haier's Model Institute (HMI), Gary Hamel & Michele Zanini's MLab, and Thinkers50's Business Ecosystem Alliance (BEA): to identify 50 organizations that embody the principles of RenDanHeYi in their work structures. We didn’t just accept the challenge—we embraced it wholeheartedly.

This year, the challenge grew: identify 75 such organizations. Once again, we accepted. Together with our community and our colleague Maria Lorenzo, we set out to develop case studies on progressive companies, as well as a few innovative subsidiaries operating within more traditional frameworks. These are organizations we know well, companies with whom we’ve built strong relationships, and ones that welcomed us to explore their practices in depth

What is RenDanHeYi?

Before diving into the details, let’s clarify: What is RenDanHeYi? Conceived by Haier Group CEO Zhang Ruimin in 2005, RenDanHeYi is a groundbreaking management philosophy that aims to dismantle traditional hierarchical corporate structures, replacing them with highly adaptive, customer-centric ecosystems. It’s all about alignment: aligning employees (Ren) and their entrepreneurial capabilities with customer needs (Dan) to generate value, while emphasizing individual accountability and fluid organizational roles (HeYi). The model breaks down conventional silos, fostering a network of independent micro-enterprises within a larger corporate structure, effectively turning the organization into a dynamic startup incubator.

To advance the idea of Zero Distance and the broader philosophy of RenDanHeYi, Haier holds an annual forum to recognize the world's most forward-thinking organizations with the ZeroDX awards. This year, the forum marks its 9th edition, set to take place in Beijing, on September 21. Collaborating with the BEA and MLab, Haier's HMI will unveil its list of progressive companies that are operationalizing Zero Distance and related principles.

These organizations are characterized by:

Zero Distance to Customer: Product/service decisions are driven by direct market insights.
Autonomy: Small, empowered teams with full decision-making authority, enabling rapid execution.
Shared Rewards: Everyone within the micro-enterprise shares in its financial success.

That’s why we were tasked with identifying 75 progressive organizations exemplifying these principles. Over the past few months, we've developed and submitted case studies on 80+ such companies for the ZeroDX awards. Each one stands out in its field, each one is revolutionizing the workplace. We didn’t limit ourselves to a single type; instead, we explored a wide range, covering diverse industries, company sizes, and geographic locations.

Here’s the lineup of progressive organizations we’ve highlighted so far:

Yes, it’s a long list. Whether all these progressive will win a ZeroDX award isn’t up to us—that’s for Haier, MLab, and BEA to decide. But here’s what we know: every single one of them deserves it. They’re all pushing boundaries in their own unique ways.

For us, compiling these case studies was just the beginning. We’re ramping up to build an extensive database of progressive companies, with over 1,000 firms and much deeper data on each one.

Stay tuned.

Written by Joost Minnaar

Co-founder Corporate Rebels. My daily focus is on research, writing, and anything else related to making work more fun.

Connect @joost_minnaar

80+ Case Studies of Progressive Organizations

What is RenDanHeYi?

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