Insights on Strategy, Execution & Complex Organisations
I write about how strategy, execution and organisational design work in real-world environments — the kind that resist simple plans, reward systems thinking, and require leaders to adapt with clarity and purpose. Here you’ll find insights on strategic ambiguity, strategic manoeuvre, organisational viability, decision-making in complexity, and practical leadership thinking.
Browse the latest articles, or explore by topic below.
The Strategy You're Actually Running
Every organisation has one. The question is whether it is the one you intended.
Every organisation has a default strategy. It is being enacted right now, in every decision made, every resource allocated, every response to every pressure arriving from the environment.
The question is not whether you have a strategy. You do. The question is whether the one being enacted is the one you stated. And if it is not, whether you even know.
Have You Lost Your Map?
Why leaders need to rediscover the ground before they can move
A commander stands on a ridge at first light. The air is cold, the ground uneven. Scouts return in ones and twos, each with fragments of information that contradict the last. The map does not match the terrain. Units are not where they were supposed to be. The enemy has advanced more quickly than expected. The weather has turned. Every decision involves trade-offs that will hurt someone. There is no pause button.
Shaping or Being Shaped? Strategy, Identity and Structural Disposition
Why strategy starts with understanding how you're already being shaped
Leaders like to tell themselves they are shaping the game.
Most of the time, the game has already decided which kinds of moves they will even recognise as “strategic.”
The uncomfortable starting point is this: strategy is never just a set of choices about the external environment. It is always an expression of what the organisation already is, its identity, structure, relationships, and the stories it tells itself about what counts as success.
Strategy as an ecosystem approach: navigating interdependence in a shifting landscape
We've long been sold an orthodoxy of strategy that treats the organisation as an independent organism, competing in a market arena with fixed boundaries and clear rules. It's the image of chess boards, war games, or analytical grids. It is neat, discrete, and ultimately misleading. But organisations don't operate in arenas. They operate in ecosystems.
Mike's presentation delves into the complexities of the modern business landscape, sharing insights and approaches that can help leaders navigate challenges effectively.
In complex and high-stakes environments, stability is an illusion. Reflecting on my experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan, this talk explores the challenges of adapting strategy and execution in the face of chaos, risk aversion, and an agile adversary.
Podcasts and Talks.
Apperences from our founder Mike Jones.
Systems Thinking and Strategy for Leaders : Join us for an insightful interview with Mike Jones, founder and director of LBI Consulting, as we dive into the world of systems thinking and strategy.
In this episode of The Change Agent Podcast, Eric sits down with Mike Jones, Founder and Director of LBI Consulting, to explore what leadership and strategy actually look like when certainty disappears and complexity takes over.
In this reflective solo episode, Mike Jones steps back from the guest chair to explore a deeper truth: strategy is failing long before execution begins.
Mike sees strategy not as a top-down process, where the wishes of management become the gospel of the employees: strategy emerges from the actions of all. In this process, the Viable System Model is a valuable tool to develop a strategy and Mike explains how.