Strategy Meets Reality Podcast

Modern work is overflowing with nonsense. Mandatory e-learning that teaches nothing, policies no one reads, collaboration that never happens, and metrics that drive the wrong behaviour. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by James Healy, applied behavioural scientist and author of BS at Work , to unpack why organisations get pulled into performative nonsense and how beh...

Most organisations overthink strategy and underdo it. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones sits down with Alex Smith, author of No Bullsh**t Strategy , to explore why strategy has drifted into a thinking exercise instead of a doing discipline. Alex explains why the fundamentals of strategy are simple, why leaders obsess over the wrong things, and why the real work starts when you...

In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Julian Chender—organisational design expert, strategy advisor, and founder of 11A Collaborative—to explore how to make strategy work in the messy reality of organisational life. Julian draws on years of experience helping purpose-driven organisations redesign themselves to stay viable. They unpack the challenges of structure, capab...

What if the future of health isn’t just about fixing sickness—but creating value in how we live? In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Andy Wilkins—founder of Future of Health, futures strategist, and author—to rethink what strategy means in health and care systems. They explore why efficiency often works against long-term health outcomes, how integrated care and live...

Strategy isn’t a performance—it’s a practice. In this special solo episode, host Mike Jones reflects on what 30 episodes of Strategy Meets Reality have revealed about the state of modern strategy. He explores why strategy fails first in perception, not execution, and how organisations confuse alignment with coherence, performance with action, and control with orientation. Drawing on lessons from B...

The brain is your most powerful strategic tool—if you know how to use it. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones talks with Dr. Delia McCabe—neuroscientist and expert in nutritional neuroscience—about how neuroplasticity, nutrition, and stress shape leaders’ ability to think, decide, and adapt. They dive deep into the biology of creativity, the traps of mental fatigue, and why the s...

Success can be blinding. Strategy is often where complacency hides best. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones speaks with Saul Betmead de Chasteigner—strategic advisor and transformation leader—about the hidden traps in organisations that seem to be “winning.” They unpack how strategy becomes theatre, why organisations resist feedback when things are going well, and how real tran...

Viability doesn’t come from vision. It comes from feedback, iteration, and the courage to learn. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Mick Brian—a consultant with a military background and a passion for learning systems—to unpack how organisations can survive and thrive in complex environments. They explore what bees can teach us about decentralised decision-making, h...

Are your goals helping you adapt—or just perform? In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Radhika Dutt joins Mike Jones to expose the hidden trap of OKRs and KPI-led management. Drawing on her latest work and the OHL Toolkit, Radhika introduces a radical shift: move from setting performance targets to setting puzzles. They explore how metrics create fragility, why freedom of action matters, and...

Most nonsense in organisations isn’t malicious—it’s magnetic. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Paul Sweeney—author of Magnetic Nonsense: A Short History of Bullshit at Work —to unpack the rituals, myths, and illusions that derail progress inside organisations. They dive into the dangers of detached leadership, the myth of heroic CEOs, and why so many change progra...

Antifragile is more than a buzzword—it’s a design principle. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones sits down with Janka Krings-Klebe—author of The Antifragile Organization —to explore what it means to design organisations that thrive under stress. They unpack why most governance systems constrain innovation, how financial incentives can block adaptability, and why autonomy and acco...

Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting data—it’s about enabling execution under pressure. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Glenn Wilson—cybersecurity expert, OODA loop practitioner, and founder of Dynaminet—to explore how the challenges of security mirror those of strategy. From technical debt to tool overload, commander's intent to learning loops, they u...

Most strategy documents belong in a drawer. Real strategy is lived, spoken, and constantly adapted. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Professor Donald MacLean—physicist, strategist, and founder of Strategy Story —to unpack what makes strategy real, why we confuse it with policy and vision, and how governance is quietly killing adaptability. Donald shares why strate...

Most strategy frameworks promise clarity—but what happens when there is no map? In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Elsa Henderson—consultant, facilitator, and PhD researcher on “wayfinding” in complexity. Drawing on her work with impact networks and her doctoral research into real-world leadership practice, Elsa explores what it means to make decisions, build strat...

Most organisations measure success by profit. Hunter Hastings says that’s the wrong compass. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Hunter Hastings—strategist, author, and leading voice in systems thinking—to challenge the way businesses define and deliver value. They unpack why profit maximisation blinds leaders to opportunity, how autonomy unlocks creativity, and why...

Planning isn’t about precision—it’s about possibility. In this episode, Mike Jones is joined by Johan Ivari—Swedish Armed Forces officer, lecturer at the Swedish Defence University, and author of A Set-Based Approach: Searching for the Problem–Solution Eclipse . Together, they explore how strategy and execution can remain viable in a world shaped by unpredictability and complexity. Johan challenge...

Leadership is no longer about maintaining the old—it’s about shapeshifting into the new. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Louise Le Gat, creator of the purpose-led roadmap, to explore how leaders must evolve in the face of global disruption, systemic shifts, and societal transformation. Louise challenges us to stop being good soldiers of the status quo and become...

Engagement isn’t a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Marcus Dimbleby—former RAF, red teaming expert, and founder of Effective Direction—to explore how critical thinking and challenge cultures sharpen execution in complex environments. Marcus explains why most organisations suffer from self-inflicted complexity, why outputs ar...

Viability isn’t about predicting the future—it’s about preparing for many. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Norman Chorn—strategist, scenario thinker, and author—to challenge conventional planning and explore how leaders can make better strategic decisions under uncertainty. Norman explains why conventional alignment makes organisations fragile, why strategic ada...

We don’t just fight wars with weapons, we fight them with ideas, metaphors, and assumptions we don’t even question. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Ben Zweibelson—veteran, military strategist, and author of Reconceptualizing War —to explore why our dominant paradigms of strategy are failing us. They unpack the hidden structures behind military thinking, why compl...

Control is comforting, but in complexity, it’s often a trap. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones is joined by Michael Negendahl, founder of Exaptive Labs and a former emergency nurse, to explore why many leadership responses are performative rather than practical. They unpack the psychological need for certainty, the danger of chasing tidy plans in messy environments, and the dif...

Innovation isn’t a brainstorm. It’s a way of thinking, organising, and acting in uncertainty. In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones sits down with Paul Frobisher—engineer, strategist, and founder of Strategic Innovation—to explore how organisations often misdiagnose the innovation challenge. From solving the wrong problems to collapsing under performance pressure, Paul breaks down...

What if the most powerful lever in strategy isn’t action—but orientation? In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Mark McGrath—Marine veteran, strategist, and expert in John Boyd’s OODA loop—to unpack how orientation drives adaptation, shapes perception, and rewires how organisations respond to disruption. Mark takes us deep into Boyd’s legacy, revealing why strategy is...

Design thinking isn’t just for product teams—it can reshape how we do strategy. In this episode, Mike Jones is joined by Leanne Sobel—Director of Strategic Design at Snowmelt and author of a recent PhD on the intersection of design and strategy. Together, they explore what it means to bring design into strategic work: not just as a toolkit, but as an ethos of participation, reflection, and experim...

What if the real barrier to change isn’t resistance—but the stories leaders tell themselves to avoid doing the work? In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality , Mike Jones is joined by Steve Hearsum—consultant, coach, and author of No Silver Bullet —to unpack the deep disconnect between strategy, leadership, and organisational change. This isn’t about frameworks or toolkits. It’s about the mess, t...