Yesterday we left the TGS Edlund & Partners team at a crossroads: quit the network, accept the status quo, or risk everything on changing TGS culture from within.

Most firms would have chosen options one or two.

The Swedish partners chose three - and discovered that taking a principled stand can become a powerful competitive advantage.

The strategic decision

Instead of accepting network culture, they would help reshape it.

"We thought, we must contribute to the network, something that's good for them and also perhaps for the world," Andreas explains. “At the same time, the network firms could help us with other things."

The partners recommitted to their fundamental belief: "A network is a giver's game, from the first day. If we don't give, we get nothing."

This time, "giving" would include challenging the network to live up to its own values.

The giver's advantage

Andreas began raising gender equality questions across TGS forums - not as complaints, but as collaborative challenges.

This could have a measurable impact on business success, he explained: "We feel that when we have brought this question to the table we have had more business and better growth. Our staff turnover has got better."

His insight: "This is connected to the question of what are you doing and what are you saying as a business."

TGS Edlund & Partners now collaborates closely across the network. "After we joined, we threw ourselves in as much as we can. We like to work with the problems of the network - to contribute ideas, and have impact."

This involvement can be with the network as a whole or with individual member firms. “We have good collaboration with Vermetten in the Netherlands. We're sharing knowledge about internal codes of conduct."

The transparency principle

The Swedish team discovered that sharing failures builds stronger relationships than showcasing successes.

"We also share what doesn't work,” Andreas says. “We did an incentive programme a couple of years ago. We had a discussion with another network firm who was struggling to retain staff. And we told them don't do what we did."

This radical openness creates competitive advantages: "We also talk about struggles with clients. And issues with growing businesses. We have talked about the struggle to attract employees. When you do that, people might say, ah yes we had that but we tried this."

Andreas recognizes cultural barriers: "It could be hard for people in some cultures to share the difficulties. We as Swedes can talk about anything like that, failures or anything. With Japanese or US firms, they might struggle to talk about failures."

But the partners see the strategic value: "This is part of the giver's game. Anyone who talks about failures and struggles will get an answer from the network."

The multiplier effect

What started as gender equality concerns has expanded into broader collaboration.

"The minds change when the leaders of the firms are open to talk with each other," Andreas explains. "The usual way is through interactions. We do workshops together with Vermetten."

This can help to ensure that all staff in Sweden understand the network connection: "We want all the staff to have a sense of working together. That can be hard otherwise, because not everyone is working with international clients. So we have visitors, with talks from member firms and from Andrew and Marc."

The approach creates openness that generates ideas: "We also want to open a dialogue. There's real openness. We don't like to lose ideas."

The bigger mission

For TGS Edlund & Partners, network membership serves a larger industry purpose.

"The network challenges us as partners to grow and take decisions in a global perspective. It's important not to be stuck. The network is a motivator to do more, other things."

"It's not about referrals, or business, it's about developing."

The partners are particularly focused on the profession's talent crisis: "If you think about this business, it's not so attractive to a new graduate who might like to work with private equity or Spotify or IKEA. You don't want to work in a little firm doing audit."

The solution requires industry-wide collaboration: "We all need to work with the image of the industry, for our firms and the industry as a whole. We need to make this work look more fun."

The philosophy

The Swedish team operates from a core principle that extends far beyond networking.

"We're always thinking about the next step, always on the move, always looking for a new way. We're never satisfied."

Does that get exhausting? "It's not exhausting to be always unsatisfied. It's like a drug! Or like being in love. You need to nourish it. If you don't, you will vanish."

The lessons

The TGS Edlund & Partners Method:

• Turn internal resistance into strategic opportunity
• Lead cultural change rather than accepting status quo
• Share failures openly to build deeper trust
• Position values alignment as competitive advantage

For Strategic Positioning:

• "A network is a giver's game, from the first day"
• Use principled stands to differentiate from competitors
• Build reputation as the firm that tackles difficult questions

For Network Success:

• "Throw yourself in as much as you can"
• Build collaborative relationships through radical transparency
• Position your firm's values as network assets

Closing

Today, the TGS Edlund & Partners gamble on principled network membership looks inspired.

The Swedish partners would be the first to tell you it wasn't about predicting outcomes: "Some of us thought, this is something I want to do - to deliver something important for more than just me. It's bigger."

The question isn't whether their approach works. It's whether you're ready to lead change, instead of just passively joining a network.

What cultural challenges could become your competitive advantages?

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