From the Ground Up: Celebrating Two Decades of Collective Impact at Egg Strategy

I’m a big-time history reader.? More than fiction or fantasy, I enjoy understanding the real-life backstory of major events and eras from our past – and learning from it.? One category of history that doesn’t usually compel me is the history of companies.? But reaching a 20-year milestone for Egg Strategy has me reflecting on why this collective effort has mattered.? And in the personal history of a handful of people, it has mattered very much.

What’s interesting is not our history per-se but the fact that a lot of incredibly smart and good people have locked arms together and pushed something forward.? If you pause to think about your most significant memories in life, there’s rarely anything substantive that doesn’t include “collective effort” in the description:? A little league baseball team that almost had a championship.? An epic road trip in college.? A marriage.? Birth of a child.? Even an ill-fated move to a new job.? All of these events are significant because our lives were interwoven with other people in an ambitious quest.? Whether that quest was actually successful or not isn’t the point.? Rather, significance begins when we say to ourselves “I’m going to commit to something alongside a handful of other people.”

Egg had a beloved President for seven years named Jonathan Rodd.? I remember Jonathan speaking to our employees once as we kicked off a new year.? Jonathan said “Look... only a few of you here are likely to stay at Egg for more than a few years.? That’s understood as we embrace change in our careers.? But while you’re here, I encourage you to lease yourself to the dream.? Be here fully.? Be committed.? And just maybe we’ll make something and enjoy the ride.”? To that end, rather than our history, this is what we’ve made and gained so far in 20 years...

A hand on the rudder.? Egg supports strategic decision-making at some of the world’s most progressive brands.? Those companies are succeeding in their own right, but we’ve played a role in shaping those decisions by providing astute insight and advice.? And when they’re navigating their path through either calm or stormy seas, they’ve invited us to help them make critical strategic choices.? To play this role across hundreds of companies and multiple decades is truly an honor.? We’re a small band of like-minded and like-valued people that keep getting invited to influence the largest commercial and culture-makers of our time.? That only comes from the highest quality work happening year after year after year and those highly selective companies saying “there’s something about Egg and we need them to be part of our journey.”

Collective effort that’s bigger than any one person.? At any given moment, a company is the sum of its people at that time.? But across 20 years, a company becomes the collective influence of those who have come, those who have left, those who have stayed, and even those not yet here but eyeing the chance to join.? An enduring company is one that is constantly evolving amidst both the change and the consistency of individual contributors.? As someone who has seen every season so far, I’m immensely grateful for every single person that has shaped our journey – those who were here briefly, and yes, particularly those who have stayed for years and amplified their influence.? These “long haulers” have truly put their mark on this company and shaped our internal culture, our ever-improving product, and our world-class reputation.

The satisfaction of creation and companionship.? As the famous song from Rent tells us, we only have 525,600 minutes a year to live our lives.? There’s what we do with that time and, just as important, is who we spend that time with as we build and shape and evolve in our work lives.? At Egg, we encourage strong personalities – and we’re equally protective of our collaborative and inclusive ethos.? More than any single project achievement at Egg, what’s most satisfying is showing up daily to colleagues who care about each other and truly want the best for the people by their side – all while building a complicated business in real time.? Think about it... it’s rare to achieve commercial success, and rarer still to do so with a team that truly likes and cares for each other.? I don’t think any of our accountants or bankers will show up at our funerals, but I think some of our work companions just might.

Across 20 years at this company, we’ve seen ups and downs.? Yet the most consistent and remarkable result of our two-decade collective effort has been the precious and underrated experience of comradery.? Not being alone.? Aligned in purpose with people you admire.? Working side-by-side with quality companions on a difficult quest.? As Egg crosses the 20-year mark, we’re celebrating a common cause in building a commercial enterprise that’s culturally influential.? Yes, that... but the real celebration is the privilege of this much time among a unique group of quality, caring, and compelling human beings who said “let’s do this together.”

Co-Founder & CEO, Christopher Wilshire