I can distinctly remember being early in my career and hearing someone start a sentence with, “I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and…” Back then, all I could think was, “Wow! 10 years of experience in a career. I can’t imagine.”
Gulp. I’m now deep into year 20. More specifically, this month marks my 20th year at 72andSunny.
I’d just finished my second year of teaching middle school in South Los Angeles when I met with 72andSunny’s four founders. We met a few times in an old workshop building in El Segundo before I decided to take the leap to join them as their first employee.
Twenty years later, I’m halfway through my 4th year as global CEO. The learning curve has been steep and rapid in every role I’ve had at the agency, but these are my three biggest takeaways.
The power of optimism
It’s important to clarify that optimism is not positivity. Positivity is always seeing the good and saying, “it will be okay.” Optimism is acknowledging and seeking to understand the challenges, but being relentless in finding solutions and knowing that in every challenge lies an opportunity.
The challenges have been endless in the last 20 years of building 72andSunny, from growing business realities like real estate to pushing boundaries on what modern benefits look like to making it through the COVID-19 pandemic, Great Recession and client business disruptions. Oh, and never feeling like there’s enough time or money for it all.
I know that each time 72andSunny has risen beyond these challenges, at the core has been our belief that there is opportunity to make things better than we’d originally planned — and to pursue those opportunities even when there are doubters or people longingly looking at the easier route.
Learning through challenges
Inherent in optimism is craving to learn more. If we approached every challenge as experts and relied on what we already knew, we’d be limiting ourselves. We’d never uncover so many of the truths behind that culture-driving consumer insight, that unexpected creative leap or even that new way to approach our talent strategy.
Asking questions and seeking alternative ways to approach challenges is critical. I was definitely not an expert when I joined 72andSunny 20 years ago, and I would not consider myself one today. More experienced? Yes. But do I believe we can always keep learning and refining how we do things? Absolutely.
The value of a high performance culture
The most common question I get asked about 72andSunny is in regards to our culture. Visitors comment, “It just feels different here — you can feel the energy.”
When people say this, they are talking about the amazing people of 72andSunny and the environment we’ve created together. That environment is one of excellence in how we treat each other and in what we do. The people who opt into building 72andSunny each day set the bar higher each day for future talent.
We aren’t who we were 20 years ago, and we won’t be who we are today in 20 years — and I’m so grateful for that.
That push to evolve and improve is the groundwork of a performance culture and it’s the critical foundation to our 20-year history of business- and culture-driving work, of growing leaders and continuing to attract highly talented and ambitious people.
A performance culture doesn’t have to be rude or brash — it can be inclusive, kind and competitive as hell. Sports coaches show us both routes all the time, but the teams that often become dynasties have an inclusive and growth mindset. It’s one of the most important lessons that 72andSunny continues to teach me.
I can’t wait to see what this agency is doing — and teaching me — tomorrow, a week from now and in another 20 years.
Evin Shutt is global CEO at 72andSunny.
