David Lancefield: How strategy is changing for the better

What does strategy really mean when the word is everywhere, yet real strategic practice remains so rare?

In this solo episode, David Lancefield takes on one of the most overused and misunderstood ideas in business. Drawing on nearly 30 years advising CEOs, C-suite leaders, founders, and leadership teams, he makes the case for a broader, more practical, and more human view of strategy.

David explores why strategy so often gets trapped in decks, town halls, and top-level statements, while people across organisations are left unclear on the choices they can make and the contribution they can bring. He argues for a different approach: one that connects strategy with foresight, participation, ecosystems, self-management, and the wise use of AI — and brings it into the everyday moments that shape how we live and lead.

If you want to think more clearly, act more intentionally, and raise your strategic game in your organisation, your team, and your own life, this episode will give you a fresh lens and a practical way forward.

You’ll hear about:

• Why strategy is treated as distant and elite
• Strategy defined: choices that move you to better
• Why strategy and execution must stay together
• Strategies that get announced but never translated down
• Why more people need confidence to be strategic
• The growing importance of foresight within strategy
• What open strategy looks like in practice
• Why ecosystems should shape strategy design and delivery
• How self-managed teams raise the bar for strategy
• Where AI helps in strategy and where it doesn’t
• The seven daily moments that make or break a day
• Why strategy is a practice for everyone

More about David

David Lancefield is a strategy & leadership advisor, coach, author, and speaker who works with CEOs, C-suite executives, and founders at some of the world’s top organisations. Over nearly 30 years, he has worked with more than 60 CEOs and hundreds of senior leaders on strategy, leadership, culture, decision-making, and growth.

He writes for Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Review, Strategy+Business, Fast Company, and Forbes, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Times, and The Guardian. David is a former senior partner at Strategy&/PwC, a guest lecturer at London Business School, and the author of the newsletter Every Day is a Strategy Day.

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