Most organisations misuse the word risk, and the consequences can be severe.

In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones sits down with Professor Denis Fischbacher Smith, Professor of Risk and Resilience at the University of Glasgow, to unpack decades of insight from analysing system failures, organisational breakdowns and multi fatality accidents.

Denis explains why humans will never be perfectly rational, why managers exist to deal with uncertainty, and why risk frameworks often hide the very vulnerabilities leaders need to confront. From rule violations to bureaucracy, informal networks, degraded controls and the myths that mislead executives, this is a deep, practical exploration of organisational reality.

🔍 In this episode:

• Why rationality is a false construct
• Human behaviour, bounded perspective and mental models
• Why managers exist to manage uncertainty
• The misuse of risk in organisations
• Understanding threats, vulnerabilities and degraded controls
• What rule violations really tell you
• The myth of the all knowing board
• How bureaucracy distorts work and decision making
• Listening, engagement and the value of middle management
• Learning from failures and why “it never happened before” is not a strategy
• Strategic thinking in complex and uncertain environments

🎧 Keywords: Risk, Resilience, Organisational Failure, Decision Making, Vulnerabilities, Threats, Human Factors, Systems Thinking, Leadership, Safety, Complexity, Strategy

📘 Connect with Denis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denis-fischbacher-smith-1aa6453/
📬 Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-h-jones
🌐 Full episodes: https://www.lbiconsulting.com/strategy-meets-reality

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 structure of your brain determines the structure of your strategy.

Dr. McCabe explains how chronic stress, poor sleep, and cognitive overload literally close down creativity—while the right nutrients, rest, and mental frameworks can rewire your brain for better decision-making. From “additive thinking” and uncertainty fatigue to the dangers of believing what you feel, this is a masterclass in how to think better, not just faster.

🔍 In this episode:

• How brain structure shapes creative thinking
• Why stress kills neuroplasticity and creativity
• The additive problem—and why leaders avoid subtraction
• Information overload and the myth of productivity
• How to build resilience to uncertainty
• Changing minds through emotion and safety
• The “feeling of knowing” and decision-making traps
• The delicate balance between human cognition and AI

🎧 Keywords: Neuroplasticity, brain health, leadership, neuroscience, cognitive load, uncertainty, stress, nutrition, decision-making, creativity, mental resilience, emotional intelligence, organisational change, AI and cognition

📘 Learn more about Dr. Delia McCabe:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-delia-mccabe/
Substack: https://deliamccabe.substack.com/

Send Mike a Message

👂 Enjoying the show?
Subscribe and leave a review on your favourite platform — it helps more people find the podcast.

🔗 Full episodes, show notes, and resources: https://www.lbiconsulting.com/strategymeetsreality-podcast

📺 Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@StrategyMeetsReality
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Buzzsprout

💬 Connect with host Mike Jones → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-h-jones/

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 lived experience must shape policy, and why the next generation of strategy must learn faster than the systems it’s trying to change. This is a forward-looking, systems-based conversation on rethinking health, leadership, and public value.

🔍 In this episode:

• Why healthcare strategy must move beyond efficiency
• From treating sickness to building resilience
• Using lived experience and Three Horizons thinking
• Rethinking leadership and the role of AI
• Designing health systems that adapt and learn

🎧 Keywords: Healthcare Strategy, Value in Health, Futures Thinking, Systems Change, Integrated Care, Three Horizons, Public Sector Leadership, AI in Health, Resilience, Andy Wilkins

📘 Learn more about Andy’s work: https://www.vision4health.co.uk/

📬 Connect with Andy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andywilkins/

Send Mike a Message

👂 Enjoying the show?
Subscribe and leave a review on your favourite platform — it helps more people find the podcast.

🔗 Full episodes, show notes, and resources: https://www.lbiconsulting.com/strategymeetsreality-podcast

📺 Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@StrategyMeetsReality
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Buzzsprout

💬 Connect with host Mike Jones → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-h-jones/