Imagination is the Superpower: Reflections on Independence

Nineteen years of working with American companies has taught me this: the country’s true superpower isn’t its military or economy. It’s its imagination.

Time and again, I’ve been struck by the distinctly American instinct to challenge assumptions that others take as gospel. To look at established ways of doing things and ask, “But what if we didn’t?” I’ve watched teams tackle impossible timelines, not because they had to, but because they believed they could. That restless what if isn’t just optimism. It’s a competitive advantage.

I’ve seen it firsthand across the sectors I’ve worked in within the United States: aviation, aerospace, private capital, staffing, and fintech. Each one brought different challenges but shared the same drive to push boundaries and find better ways forward.

But the same imagination that drives breakthroughs also demands we reckon with harder questions.

As a Canadian who has spent nearly two decades building brands and strategies alongside American leaders, my relationship with the country is layered. It holds admiration and critique, proximity and distance, deep collaboration and distinct identity.

This is a moment of deep reflection for America. A tension between promise and reality. Between the stories the country tells itself and the experiences of those living within its borders. I won’t wade into politics. But as someone who helps organizations navigate identity, I also won’t pretend it’s simple.

What gives me hope are the people I continue to meet. The ones pushing forward not just for profit, but for purpose. The ones asking better questions about impact, inclusion, and legacy. The ones who understand that the most powerful brands, like the most enduring nations, earn their authority through actions, not just aspirations.

The stories a country tells itself matter. But the ones it chooses to write next matter more.

To my American friends, colleagues, and clients: may your next chapter be one where that legendary imagination takes on your biggest challenges, including inequality, division, and the gap between ideals and lived reality.

That would be worthy of the innovation that defines you.

And that would be a story worth telling.