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.

Strategy isn’t just a plan—it’s a practice.
In this episode, Leanne Sobel joins Mike Jones to explore how design reshapes strategy from a static product into a dynamic, participatory process. They unpack the power of reflection, feedback, and stakeholder sensemaking—and why design thinking, done right, isn’t fluff—it’s strategic rigour in action.

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.

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.