Most strategies fail not because the plan was wrong, but because the organisationwas built for control, not adaptation.

In this talk, Mike challenges the idea that strategy is a fixed aspiration ordocument to be implemented.

Drawing on his work with senior leaders and insights from systems thinking, he explores how structure shapes behaviour, how observation must come beforeaspiration, and why strategy must be lived, not declared.

Using the Viable System Model as a lens, Mike shows how organisations candesign for adaptability and coherence instead of alignment and compliance.

Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of how to build strategy as a living capability – one that manoeuvres, learns, and holds its course when realityrefuses to cooperate.

Paul Pangaro

Mike Jones is an organisational psychologist and systems thinker who helps senior leadersclose the gap between strategy and execution in complex environments.

A former British Army soldier, he learned the realities of leadership in uncertainty longbefore studying them, leading teams in high-pressure situations where plans rarely survivedcontact with reality. That experience now underpins his work with large public and private organisations, helping them rethink how strategy is conceived, structured, and delivered.

As Director of LBI Consulting, Mike uses the Viable System Model, Mission Command, and emergent strategy to help organisations remain adaptive, decentralised, and viable under pressure. He’s also a guest lecturer at leading business schools and host of theStrategy Meets Reality podcast, which explores what actually works when strategy meetsthe real world.

His upcoming book, When Strategy Meets Reality: An Emergent Approach to Strategy and Execution, challenges conventional approaches and shows how leaders can buildorganisations that manoeuvre, learn, and adapt when predictability fails.