Engage the Fox: A Business Fable About Thinking Critically and Motivating Your Team

A more-than-memorable allegory that will teach you to embrace change, develop superior critical-thinking skills, and solve any problem that comes your way by using teamwork. 

Engage the Fox is a charismatic business fable set at a newspaper run by publisher Hedgehog,  and his executive team of woodland creatures. When met with a difficult decision regarding where the newspaper industry is headed, as well as pressure to give discounts to their top advertisers, Hedgehog engages consultant Thaddeus P. Fox to teach the team at The Toad Hollow Gazette how to make important decisions. By thinking critically and utilizing the different personality types present in the office, the team learns to see the big picture and tap the energy and imagination of everyone. The animals portrayed here, by their very nature, represent different aspects of the human personality as illustrated in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Sensing sales manager Squirrel is adept at gathering information; feeling Animal relations director Dog is keen on seeking agreement amongst the pack; thinking finance director Owl needs to know the entirety of a situation before settling on a decision; and intuitive consultant Fox can think up an endless amount of ideas for solving problems. 

The authors base their book on Lawrence Chester’s popular course in critical thinking that helps participants identify the cause of problems large and small and generate better, more implementable solutions. That process incorporates four key critical thinking skills that businesspeople can develop to help them evaluate their options as they learn how to manage complex, messy issues in a systematic way that ensures stakeholder buy-in and increases their success rate. 

Lawrence and Chester have created an entertaining imaginary world where the memorable management team that has lived and breathed their industry for decades “engages the fox” as they undergo a strategic shift. They recognize the need to involve someone with an outside perspective who is adept at navigating change. Enter the hero, for, as is often quoted in management and political theory, “The fox knows many things; the hedgehog one big thing.” Literally and figuratively, it seems. 

Jen Lawrence is a principal at Process Design Consultants Inc., with expertise in issues management, critical thinking skills, and change management. She has worked for a Big 4 consulting firm and has run the training department for a Fortune 500 company’s Canadian subsidiary, where she developed a 360-degree performance review system and a mentoring program. Jennifer earned an MBA in finance from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, where she has guest-lectured in the strategic leadership program at the School of Continuing Studies. 

Larry Chester founded Process Design Consultants Inc. in 1998. He designed and developed many of the company’s training programs, all of which have been customized to meet the specific needs of client organizations. An accomplished adult educator and facilitator, Larry is especially committed to the measurement of training effectiveness. In 2000 he received an award for “instructional excellence” for his work in continuing education at the University of Toronto.