Why military thinking still matters in business

In this episode of Strategy Meets Reality, Mike Jones sits down with Ben Ford—Royal Marines veteran, technologist, and founder of Mission Ctrl—to explore what the military can really teach us about strategy, leadership, and execution in the business world.

This is not about war stories or hierarchy. It’s about decentralised decision-making, strategic adaptation, and why organisations need to stop chasing efficiency and start building real capacity. Ben brings his unique perspective from the front lines of both military operations and tech implementation to challenge how we think about command and control, AI, and organisational resilience.

From why most change management is broken to how businesses can learn from military doctrine without blindly copying it, this conversation goes deep into what it means to compete—and win—in uncertainty.

🔍 In this episode:

• Why you can’t manage change—you have to lead it
• The danger of over-optimising for efficiency
• How military doctrine evolved through failure and what business can learn from that
• Why planning still matters—even when everything changes
• How AI can increase human capacity if you use it right
• Building resilience through structure, not just tech

🎧 Keywords: military, technology, strategy, agility, decentralisation, leadership, adaptability, AI, command and control, organisational design

📘 Learn more about Ben’s work: https://missionctrl.dev/

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

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