"Steve Jobs did it. Michael Dell did it. By gosh, I think I'll do it, too!"

I'm sure that Jerry Yang didn’t' say that, but it does seem like we're developing one more management trick to imitate: the return of the founder. There are good and insightful stories in the news today about management changes at Yahoo. Check out the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, or a more techie-take from E-Commerce Times to read them.

But what's interesting for me is Jerry Yang and other founders returning as saviors. Not that it always works.

True, it seems to be working for Michael Dell. He came back as CEO of Dell at the beginning of February. The company beat Wall Street estimates for last quarter and the stock which was around 23 when Dell returned has now moved up to almost 28.

Things don't always work so well.  Phil Knight still meddles around at Nike. Ted Waitt couldn’t manage to bring Gateway back. That might cause Mr. Yang some concern.

The record is even mixed when it's not the actual founder, but a member of the founding family. Bill Ford couldn't turn Ford around and wound up bringing in Alan Mulally. But James Houghton came back for a second round at Corning in 2002 and left a far more solid and profitable company when he left the CEO role three years later.

Of course Yang probably hopes it will all come out like it did for Steve Jobs. When Jobs returned to Apple ten years ago, the company was moribund, the stock was bumping along the bottom of the charts and pundits were planning last rites for the company. Today, after rationalizing the Mac product line, introducing one of the most revolutionary products ever in the iPod and anticipating the launch of the iPhone, Apple stock is trading north of $120.

Bringing back a founder evokes some powerful symbolism, but not every founder or situation is the same. Still, history can tell us something.

Rudi Fahlenbrach, of the Ohio State University has studied boomerang CEOs, some of whom were founders of their companies, to see how they performed. According to the New York Times, his data show founders have returned to companies 28 times since 1993. He says that a company's stock performs 9 percent better than the market after the return of a founder.

So what will happen at Yahoo?  We don't know, but there are a lot of things in play. The real question is: "Is Jerry Yang the best person to lead Yahoo right now?"  We'll see.

In the meantime, you can hum along to a parody of an old Elvis song.

"Return to founder,
Success unknown."

Request your free copy of "Meeting the Challenges of the Boomer Brain Drain: An integrated approach."

Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.