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In a world that won’t sit still, leaders can’t rely on outdated models built for stability and control.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
📍 Listen/Watch on:
🔗 Subscribe and rethink your strategy.
Latest Episode
Ep. 12 Designing Strategy: Leanne Sobel on Fusing Design Thinking with Strategic Practice
Guest: Leanne Sobel
"Strategy needs to be usable, not just deliverable."
In this episode, Leanne Sobel—Director of Strategic Design at Snowmelt and PhD researcher—joins Mike Jones to explore how design thinking can make strategy more reflective, adaptive, and human.
They unpack why traditional strategies often fail to engage those they affect, and how design practices like stakeholder sensemaking, iterative planning, and reflective decision-making can unlock commitment and capability. This is a conversation about fusion, not opposition, and why strategy must be shaped with people, not just for them.
All Episodes
Ep. 11 No Silver Bullet: Reconnecting Strategy, Change, and Leadership with Steve Hearsum
Quick fixes won’t fix your culture. And communication isn’t change.
In this episode, Steve Hearsum joins Mike Jones to challenge the illusions that derail organisational change. They unpack why so many efforts fail, how strategy and leadership become disconnected, and what it really takes to build capability, coherence and commitment—from the inside out.
Steve is the author of No Silver Bullet, a book that asks tough questions most leaders avoid—and offers a way through that doesn’t start with a model, but with honesty.
Ep. 10 Open Strategy in Practice with Julia Hautz: Turning Participation into Strategic Advantage
Openness won’t mean consensus—but it can create real commitment.
In this episode, Julia Hautz joins Mike Jones to explore how open strategy challenges the tradition of closed-door planning and builds legitimacy through structured participation. From navigating crisis to reshaping culture, this is a call for leaders to rethink how strategy gets made—and who gets to shape it.
Ep. 07 Reimagining Risk with Stefan Gershater: How to Make Risk an Enabler, Not a Hindrance
Risk isn’t just about avoiding failure—it’s the fuel for growth. In this episode, Stefan Gershater joins Mike Jones to unpack how leaders can reimagine risk as a strategic enabler by linking it to objectives, decision-making, and long-term resilience.
Ep. 05 Mission Command in Reality: Don Vandergriff on Building Thinking Leaders
Mission command isn’t a process—it’s a culture. In this episode, Don Vandergriff joins Mike Jones to explore how real leadership is built through trust, empowerment, and experiential learning. From military history to modern organisations, this conversation dives deep into building adaptable, thinking leaders in complexity.
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.
Do you know someone you recommend as a guest?
Pitch a guest: