Abraham Lincoln supposedly said,"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four sharpening the axe."
With the right tools, a sharp axe, we can make easier work of the task, the chopping of the tree.
It’s a great quote about preparation. But what if sharpening the axe isn’t enough?
What if we’re so caught up in swinging that we never stop to ask: Is an axe even the best tool for this job?
What if we experimented with saws? Lasers? Controlled explosions? Bulldozers? What if, instead of swinging harder, we built something that cut down trees faster?
That’s what innovation does. It changes the game. And yet, most organizations are so focused on efficiency, so busy hacking away at their to-do lists, that they never stop long enough to rethink how they work.
It’s problematic because the world is changing faster than ever, and if you don’t intentionally create space for innovation, you’ll get left behind.
Why not innovate more?
The biggest barrier to innovation isn’t a lack of talent. It’s a lack of space.
Most leaders say they want innovation. They want better ideas, smoother systems, and game-changing strategies.
But when are their teams supposed to come up with these things?
Between back-to-back meetings?
While scrambling to meet deadlines?
In the rare moments between putting out fires?
Google’s famous “20% time” gives employees one full day a week to work on passion projects that could lead to the company’s next breakthrough. It’s not only meant to be a perk of the job for employees, but it’s a strategy that fosters new possibilities for the tech giant on a regular basis.
Yet many organizations are doing the opposite - cutting budgets, tightening schedules, and demanding more output. They’re swinging harder instead of sharpening their tools.
And then they wonder why innovation isn’t happening.
Innovation Requires Two Kinds of Space
If you want fresh thinking, you need to protect space for it - both mentally and physically.
1. Psychological Space
Innovation thrives in an environment where people feel free to experiment, fail, and contribute ideas without fear of judgment. That means:
Encouraging half-formed ideas and curiosity-driven conversations
Removing the pressure to be efficient every second of the day
Creating a culture where it’s safe to experiment and play
If your team is afraid of looking foolish, they’ll only suggest ideas that feel safe. And safe ideas don’t lead to breakthroughs.
2. Physical Space
Space shapes behavior. A dull, sterile office filled with gray walls and spreadsheets isn’t exactly an incubator for creative thinking.
Dedicated areas for brainstorming and big-picture thinking
Whiteboards, flexible workspaces, and visual inspiration
Locations that feel different from the daily grind
Even small shifts - like moving a meeting outside, introducing standing desks, or hanging up some pattern-breaking art - can prime people for creative thinking.
Three Ways to Build an Innovation-Ready Organization
Reduce the Noise
Identify what’s overwhelming your team and fix it. If people are constantly buried in stressors, they won’t have the bandwidth to think creatively.
Simplify workflows, extend deadlines, or eliminate busywork. Sometimes, buying time means hiring an additional team member to ease the load.
Innovation doesn’t happen when people are drowning in tasks. It happens when they have the mental clarity to explore new ideas.
Put Innovation on the Calendar
If creative thinking isn’t scheduled, it won’t happen. Waiting for innovation to appear between meetings and deadlines doesn’t work.
Dedicate time to solving key problems - like improving customer experience or streamlining internal systems - and pay your team to think. They're ideas might just contain the key to your future success.
Lead by Example
Show your team that experimenting is part of the job. If leadership treats innovation as a side project, employees will too.
Share your own attempts at creative problem-solving. When leaders demonstrate curiosity and risk-taking, it gives others permission to do the same.
Model imperfect ideas. The best solutions often come from working through a lot of bad ones first.
Innovation Isn’t About Free Time - It’s About Survival
It’s easy to put off innovation. To say, we’ll get to that later.
But "later" might be too late. When suddenly there’s another industry disruption. When your competitors pass you. When your team burns out from playing defense instead of offense.
The organizations that thrive aren’t the ones that work the hardest. They’re the ones that create the space to think smarter, adapt faster, and build the future instead of reacting to it.
The question is: Are you making that space?
Or are you just swinging harder?
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