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Imagine a swampy threshold where a river meets forest, snowmelt meets mud, and silence meets the low buzz of something stirring. It’s messy, murky, and alive. This is beaver country, and it’s where our story begins.
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Welcome to beaver country.
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When I tell people that beavers are the perfect inspiration for the kind of leadership we need today, people look at me like I’ve just said I get career advice from woodland creatures. (Because I did.) But stay with me! Because these big-toothed, semi-aquadic rodents are quietly one of the most powerful metaphors we’ve got for how to build something that benefits everybody.
I grew up in Albany, NY, home to endless suburbs, bureaucratic busywork, a skyline that features an egg, and once, a booming capital of the global beaver fur trade. In fact, Albany, the northernmost surviving colonial settlement, was once called Beverwyck, as in ‘beaver district.’ What I didn’t fully appreciate until recently is that beavers, my state animal, didn’t just bankroll early America, they quite literally shaped it. And now, living in NYC, I catch glimpses of beavers carved into old buildings, hidden in stonework like forgotten gods in a temple.
Wall Street once loved their pelts. But today, their wisdom is worth more. Beavers are nature’s original engineers, strengthening ecosystems through long-term, regenerative work. When they’re not building lifelong bonds and raising families across generations, you might find them saving governments millions of dollars and years of planning and development.
And in a moment when corporate ecosystems are fraying—DEI is being defunded, supply chains are scrambled, layoffs are common, and trust is brittle—we don’t need more extractive strategy. We need regenerative wisdom. Forget sharks. We need big beaver energy.
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Channeling big beaver energy.
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Here are three ways to work smarter, foster resilience, and build enduring change, all inspired by beaver wisdom:
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I. Build systems that support others.
Beavers are a "keystone species"—when they're removed, ecosystems collapse.
Beaver dams slow erosion, enrich the land, filter and distribute water in more directions, and help plants, fish, birds, trees, and even predators thrive. Wetlands (those vital lands where water meets earth) cover just 5% of Earth's land, yet provide essential life support for 90% of local species in dry seasons. That's why scientists, ranchers, and land stewards are strategically reintroducing beavers to help with restoration. With the support of tools like NASA data and the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (yes, BRAT), beavers are building a more resilient, interconnected ecosystem. They’re the original Charli xcx: messy, smart, and reshaping the landscape.
What would it look like if we approached our own work with more mindfulness of our surrounding communities? What if we build like it matters to more than just us?
🔨 One thing you can do right now.
Map the ripple effects. In a doc or a Figma board, write down your next big move or idea. Then, list who it benefits, directly and indirectly. Is there anyone (or anything) missing? What is an unexpected community to consider and build for?
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II. Work with what you’ve got.
Beavers are masters of optimization. Beaver dams are never truly finished—they’re constantly evolving through steady maintenance. Rather than starting from scratch, beavers use what’s nearby, repurposing local materials and even reinforcing existing dams to build on what’s already working. This ongoing maintenance creates some of the only non-human-made structures visible from space.
Maintenance isn’t glamorous, but it’s powerful. It creates stability in a shifting environment. It’s the commitment that keeps great ideas from falling apart. Beavers don’t wait for collapse to make a change.
What would it look like to treat maintenance, improvisation, and local creativity as a core strategy? How can we improve existing projects and systems instead of constantly starting anew? Who are our most valuable and overlooked partners and resources that are closer to home?
🔨 One thing you can do right now.
Choose one system you use daily and improve it. No need to overhaul or replace. Just maintain it with intention. That could mean organizing your workspace, tightening your weekly status approach, or checking in on a collaboration that is running under the radar. Start by sustaining the good before chasing something new to practice the power of intentional upkeep.
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III. Adapt, rebuild, restore.
Beavers are no stranger to adversity. Despite being hunted to near extinction—their population across North America dropped by as much as 90%—they didn’t disappear. They returned quietly, rebuilding not with frenzied productivity but with steady persistence.
Take Chernobyl, for example. Years after the nuclear disaster, beavers have returned, building dams that have helped the surrounding area recover. It doesn’t happen overnight. But it’s proof that recovery is possible, even after catastrophe.
And I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. About the headlines that feel like steps—even leaps—backward. About the policies gutted in one night that took decades of advocacy to build. About the disappointment that comes when you care deeply and still see things unravel. Leaders are burned and squeezed out.
How might you find hope in slow progress, trusting resilience as a long-term plan, not an instant fix? How might you keep going without burning out?
🔨 One thing you can do right now.
Revisit your company’s origin story. Go back to what first made you care. Maybe there’s a person, a moment, a mission that first lit the spark. Write it down. Say it out loud. Share it with someone. Resilience isn’t just pushing through—it’s staying connected to what’s still worth it. Setbacks are real, but they are also lessons in how to come back stronger.
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In uncertain times, build like a beaver.
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As SYLVAIN’s recent open letter of resistance states, “The work of progress—messy, meaningful, often misunderstood—rarely feels urgent until it’s too late. So we act now. Quietly, stubbornly, steadily.” That’s the kind of thoughtful work that holds under pressure.
Chaos-tamers, ecosystem engineers, masters of building things that last. Nobody does it better than the beaver.
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Shannon Gerety is a Senior Strategist at SYLVAIN, tackling every challenge with a positive, forward-thinking spirit and a sharp radar for climate and social justice. After hours, she's currently obsessed with listening to Cowboy Carter, learning about hunter-gatherers, and going to her weekly Spanish classes. She’s always ready for a new adventure or a spontaneous dance party.
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Progress Report is a bi-weekly newsletter of business considerations, cultural conversations, and fun recommendations from around the world and web.
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