Hello {{first_name}} ,

When you see a fox, what's the first thing you think?

I love foxes. They get a bad reputation - but the truth is, foxes are incredibly agile problem solvers. They think fast, adapt, and find their way through complex situations with a kind of bold practicality I've always associated with innovative thinking.

Over time, I've started noticing when they show up in my life, often as a signal that it might be time to shift. To rethink. To approach something differently.

In August of 2024, a tree fell on our house.

For weeks, all I could see were the constraints: the disruption, the decisions, the stress of navigating something unexpected and complex. My thinking narrowed to the problem itself.

Then one afternoon, pulling into my driveway, a fox ran right in front of my car. I stopped. And I found myself wondering:

What if these constraints aren't just obstacles - but invitations to innovate?

It brought me back to something I learned during my MFA at American University. In the art world, constraints aren't a limitation - they're often the catalyst. 

One of the hardest things you can do is hand an artist a blank canvas and say, "Create something bold and new." Without boundaries, it's surprisingly hard to begin. But introduce constraints, and suddenly the mind is forced to s t r e t c h.

Or like Michael J. Fox, whose memoir No Time Like the Future impacted me deeply this month. He reflects on how the constraints of Parkinson's disease have required him to adapt in real time - finding new ways to move, act, and live.

His story is a powerful reminder that innovation isn't always about invention. It's often about responding creatively to what's in front of you.

Which makes innovation far more accessible than we think.

A client recently asked me to design an experience for executive leaders on building innovation capabilities. Through that process, a few things became clear.

1️⃣ First: the word innovation carries a lot of baggage. For some, it means technology or AI. For others, something bold, disruptive, and entirely new. 

One of my favorite reframes comes from Phil Budden and Fiona Murray: innovation is the process of taking ideas from inception to impact. Technology can enable it, but it's not the essence. And "new" can be incremental just as easily as it's transformational.

2️⃣ Second: the biggest barrier to innovation isn't a lack of ideas. It's fear.

Leaders want to approach problems differently - but doing so means risking judgment, the possibility of failure, even being seen as "not innovative." 

And innovation doesn't stop at the idea; you have to bring others along, which means advocating and communicating in ways that feel vulnerable.

What I've seen in the room: when leaders start treating innovation as small, practical experiments rather than high-stakes bets, the energy shifts immediately. People walk in wanting answers and walk out realizing they don't need all of them to move forward. 

Final thoughts: In many ways, foxes embody what we ask of leaders navigating innovation today: the ability to stay open, notice subtle signals, and move forward without a clear map. 

The obstacle in front of you right now - what if that's exactly where your innovation posture gets built?

In partnership,