Innovation keeps teams wired not tired

May 26

DIGITAL JOURNAL | JENNIFER KERVIN

“Innovation is cool, but innovation for a purpose is so much better,” says Raymond Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of financial forecasting platform Profitual.

Based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Fitzpatrick has watched his region shift from a place where ambitious graduates often felt they had to leave to one where startups and scaleups are taking root.

“There are lots of startup companies, and the ability to start your own company doesn’t matter whether you’re in New Brunswick, Halifax, or Toronto,” he says.

The data backs him up. Digital Journal’s Canada’s Innovation Spectrum 2025 report found that only 34% of Canadian workers feel motivated and engaged in their jobs. In highly innovative companies, that number rises to 68%, more than doubling the national average. The report classifies these top performers as “Game Changers,” and they make up just 5% of Canadian companies.

For leaders, the immediate takeaway is that competitive advantage hinges on mental energy. When teams are given space to create, they stick around longer, bring more enthusiasm to the job, and feel part of something bigger.

Because no one wants their employees to go full Miranda Priestly, popping off a bored “by all means, move at a glacial pace, you know how that thrills me.”

Innovation fuels energy, not just outcomes

Too often, leaders assume that engagement is about pay or perks. While obviously a pretty key factor, survey data does prove otherwise.

According to our research, 58% of Canadian workers considered leaving their jobs in the past year because of frustration with a lack of innovation. The issues they cited were familiar, including ignored ideas, resistance to new tools, and siloed teams.

“Humans matter. Great humans create great things. Humans plus advanced technologies like AI are amazing, but it’s always humans plus. It’s never technology alone,” says David Shipley, founder and CEO of Beauceron Security, also based in Fredericton.

That belief is baked into Shipley’s company. In 2017, Beauceron created the world’s first cyber risk scoring platform, helping employees measure their vulnerabilities and where they can be more proactive in strengthening their digital defences. It’s a system that turns abstract awareness into something people can measure and improve.

The idea was to make people active participants in defending against cyber risks, not passive recipients of training. And employees really embraced it, he says, explaining how a five-point shift in the scoring metrics in 2019 led to a deluge of support calls.

The approach reflects a broader philosophy of prevention over reaction. Shipley compares most fraud defenses to CPR — useful once the damage is done, but not a substitute for keeping people healthy in the first place.

“We need to turn people from the targets to the fraud fighters,” he says.

Shipley’s point underscores what Digital Journal’s research shows. In innovative companies, 68% of employees report feeling motivated and engaged at work, compared to just 34% across Canadian workplaces overall. Game Changer firms also outperformed Stagnant ones by wide margins, with three times stronger results in leadership and vision.

Citing mass, AI-induced layoffs at companies like Salesforce, Shipley believes the long game belongs to companies that trust and invest in people.

“Right now, we’re at a moment where we’re devaluing people at a pace never before,” he says.

Ultimately, humans create value. Ignore that, and there goes the spark that drives innovation.

Trust is the spark that keeps ideas alive

Innovation doesn’t come from slogans slapped on a wall. Real momentum comes from daily behaviours that make people feel safe to test, share, and build on ideas.

Sorry to the muralist who just finished that inspirational design on the wall of Brand New Startup C-Corp.

Digital Journal’s research found that 93% of employees in Game Changer companies experience positive responses to failed ideas, compared to just 72% at Stagnant companies.

In one environment, failure is more often punished. In the other, it fuels learning and creativity.

Fitzpatrick has seen this first-hand. At Profitual, developers are given 10% of their time to experiment with new tools.

“Sometimes you get these massive gains. And if we didn’t give that 10% time, we were never going to get that 10x output,” he says.

Those experiments don’t always succeed, but they give people the confidence to try, and the payoff is higher engagement and stronger results.

He describes a culture where testing is valued over perfection.

“We let the data speak. It’s like if you want to do a TikTok video in marketing. Well, I don’t think accountants are there, but maybe they are. Let’s give it a go,” he says. “As long as we evaluate it and make a decision moving forward, we see it as a win.”

The research also points to what it calls the “middle-manager multiplier effect,” noting that it’s not only executives setting the tone. Managers on the ground recognize ideas, advocate for experiments, and shield teams when things don’t pan out. That kind of protection turns innovation into a repeatable habit instead of a one-off exercise.

Purpose matters as much as novelty

There is a trap, though, in chasing innovation for its own sake.

“I’ve seen a lot of companies that are trying to do novel things,” Fitzpatrick cautions. “But… it was a hammer walking around looking for a nail. They didn’t really have a customer pain point they’re trying to solve.”

Teams lose motivation if they are constantly building things no one uses. By contrast, linking creativity to customer impact keeps energy levels high.

This echoes the research finding that collaboration and purpose are what differentiate top performers. Instead of simply piloting new ideas, Game Changers link innovation to solving real problems, reward collaboration over hierarchy, and build systems that make creativity part of daily work.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Shipley says, echoing the famous line about leadership. “Culture is what enables this.”

And in the wise words of our friend Miranda Priestly, “don’t be ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody wants this.”

Innovation can rewrite local economies

Innovation can launch a singular career, but it can also change the trajectory of entire regions. Digital Journal found that 57% of Canadians would consider relocating to work for a more innovative employer. Workers in Eastern Canada and Alberta are especially willing to move for the right opportunity.

That creates both risk and opportunity for employers. For regions like Atlantic Canada, which Fitzpatrick and Shipley both call home, the challenge is to build innovative cultures locally so people don’t feel they need to leave.

Shipley points to Newfoundland’s tech sector as an example of how a culture of innovation can reshape a region. The $2.75 billion USD purchase by Nasdaq of online security and anti-fraud company Verafin sparked momentum that he believes will change the island’s trajectory for decades.

“Innovation is going to be the new oil for that island,” he says.

Once innovation takes hold in a local economy, it can become self-reinforcing.

Hey leaders! Make creativity part of the job

The data suggests innovation isn’t a side project, but a cultural driver that shapes loyalty and performance. Canadian companies that embrace it are more resilient, more optimistic, and more likely to retain their best people.

For leaders, the challenge is to make that link explicit. Innovation should be built into roles, not bolted on as an occasional exercise. Collaboration should take priority over hierarchy. Failure should be treated as data, not as waste. And above all, creativity should connect to purpose, so that teams feel their work matters.

“I don’t think anyone wakes up in the morning and thinks ‘How can I do the least amount as possible?’” says Fitzpatrick. “People want to be motivated by work. They want to do good work.”

The question is whether leaders create the conditions for people to bring their full energy to the job.

Final shots

Innovation drives energy, and energy drives loyalty. Engagement rises when employees see their creativity valued.
Game Changers prove that culture is the multiplier. Trust, collaboration, and tolerance for failure turn innovation from an aspiration into a habit.
Purpose is the hinge. Novelty alone doesn’t sustain energy, but linking creativity to real problems keeps people committed for the long term.
Regional dynamics matter. Innovative employers will not only attract talent, they can shift entire local economies.

By Jennifer Kervin | Published September 9, 2025

Kerry Lawlor