WHERE LEADERS RETHINK HOW STRATEGY WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD
The traditional approach to strategy is broken.
In a world that won’t sit still, leaders can’t rely on outdated models built for stability and control.
Strategy Meets Reality is a podcast for leaders, strategists, and thinkers who want real insight—not theory. Hosted by organisational psychologist and systems thinker Mike Jones, each episode cuts through the noise with honest conversations from people who’ve lived the complexity, made the tough calls, and rethought what strategy means in practice.
🎧 New episodes every Tuesday
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Latest Episode
Ep. 20 – Planning to Adapt: Johan Ivari on Strategy, Narrative, and the Set-Based Approach
Guest: Johan Ivari
“Instead of fail fast, I say learn fast. But in learning fast, there's a cost—and that needs to be in the calculus.”
In this episode, Johan Ivari—military officer and systems thinker—joins Mike Jones to challenge conventional strategy and explore how organisations can stay viable in a world of uncertainty. From mission command to set-based planning, they unpack how adaptability, feedback loops, and empathy reshape how leaders lead.
It’s a powerful conversation about coherence, capability, and designing organisations to survive contact with reality.
All Episodes
Ep. 20 Planning to Adapt: Johan Ivari on Strategy, Narrative, and the Set-Based Approach
Strategy isn’t about having the answers—it’s about keeping your options open.
In this episode, Johan Ivari—military officer, lecturer, and systems thinker—joins Mike Jones to explore how leaders can design strategy that stays viable under pressure. They dive into set-based planning, viable systems, and narrative-led execution, showing how to create organisations that learn, adapt, and act—not just perform to plan.
Meet your Host:
Mike Jones
Mike Jones is a systems thinker, organisational psychologist, and former British Army soldier.
He’s worked as a strategy and execution advisor to senior executives across rail, tech, and government to rethink how strategy actually works in complexity.
He founded LBI Consulting and author of the upcoming book When Strategy Meets Reality.
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