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In a world that won’t sit still, leaders can’t rely on outdated models built for stability and control.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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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.
All Episodes
Ep. 28 Beehives and Viability: Mick Brian on Strategy, Feedback, and Emergent Learning
Strategy is not a plan—it’s how you learn fast enough to stay viable.
In this episode, Mick Brian—consultant, former soldier, and strategic thinker—joins Mike Jones to explore how feedback, autonomy, and learning culture shape real organisational resilience. They discuss what bees reveal about decentralised coordination, why after-action reviews matter, and how technology can support—or hinder—emergence.
This is a sharp, practical conversation for leaders who want to build organisations that can adapt and endure.
Ep. 13 Orientation is Everything: Mark McGrath on Boyd’s OODA, Disruption, and Strategic Adaptation
You can’t plan your way through uncertainty—but you can orient through it.
In this episode, strategist and former Marine Mark McGrath joins Mike Jones to explore how leaders can use John Boyd’s thinking to stay adaptive in a fast-moving world. They unpack the power of orientation, the illusion of prediction, and how small changes ripple through complex systems. From Wall Street to military lessons, this is a grounded conversation about strategy, learning, and the hidden forces that shape organisational survival.
Ep. 02 Orientation is Everything: Inside Boyd's Thinking with Chet Richards
Chet Richards breaks down Boyd’s thinking, why orientation beats speed, and how decentralised leadership creates real adaptability.
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