Inside the Strategy Room

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:33) >   We talk with two of our experts about their new research on corporate resilience and what differentiates companies that emerge from economic downturns stronger than they were going in. We'll share insights on preparing your organization for macroeconomic crises and why the next downturn may be very different from ear...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:27) >   We continue our discussion on the factors that most affect a strategy’s odds of success. In our two previous podcasts we discussed how social dynamics and biases can undermine strategy development and explained the Power Curve of economic profit, which shows how well—or how poorly—the strategies of the world’s larges...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:39) >   We continue our discussion with three senior partners about their research on the factors that most affect a strategy’s odds of success and the moves companies need to make to boost corporate performance. In our last podcast, we discussed the authors’ Power Curve model, which graphs the world’s largest companies’ per...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 19:31) >   In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, McKinsey senior partners Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, and Sven Smit speak with communications director Sean Brown about their book, Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick. In this first of three podcasts, the co-authors discuss the Power Curve of economic profit and h...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 16:41) >   The demands on CFOs are rising, along with the scale and influence of the role. Today’s podcast was recorded at our 2019 CFO Forum, where thetheme was “Reinventing the CFO.” The Forum was hosted by Kapil Chandra, a senior partner in our London office, and Matt Stone, an associate partner also based in London. Jonatha...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:00) >   In this episodewe share McKinsey global managing partner Kevin Sneader’s recent address to a gathering of CFOs in London. The conference’s theme was around reinventing the role of the CFO and how digital and analytics are helping drive this reinvention. Kevin’s remarks focused on macro disruptions and the implication...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:20) >   Senior partners Tanguy Catlin and Kate Smaje discuss their recent work on digital reinventions at established companies and the role CFOs should play to help them succeed. In their conversation with communications director Sean Brown, they share their insights from recent research on the factors that separate digital...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:30) >   While economic downturns are impossible to predict, it is never too early to start thinking about how to weather the next downturn—whenever it comes. Two of our senior partners, Cindy Levy and Martin Hirt, recently talked about how executives can think about this challenge and how this applies not only when there is...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 13:46) >   When we talk about organizations we often think in terms of their performance and their overall health. Gender diversity tends to be a subject that many relate to the health part of that equation. But new research has uncovered a fascinating correlation between gender diversity and corporate performance. Joining us t...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:07) >   As the pace of social, economic, and technological change accelerates, organizations everywhere must make increasingly complex decisions in the face of an uncertain future. This is why the value of creative and strategic thinkers capable of solving complex problems has never been higher.   Today’s episode features a...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:13) >   Most CEOs understand that innovation is a team sport. The challenge leaders face is identifying and nurturing the right combination of people within an organization who are capable of developing winning products and taking them to market. Erik Roth and Matt Banholzer join us to share their perspectives on what it tak...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:03) >   Andy West on recent trends in mergers and acquisitions and the importance of aligning your transaction strategy with your overall strategy. How do you know when it's the right time to divest? What strategies do top M & A performers employ to gain a competitive advantage? How do you align the board and management team...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:17) >   CFOs are playing an increasingly pivotal role driving change in their companies. How should they balance their traditional responsibilities with the new CFO mandate? Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/ See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 9:34) >   Management teams who engage positively with attackers may find activist campaigns bring ideas that create value and improve shareholder performance. We investigate the levers activists pull to improve the performance of target companies, activist investor trends globally, and how companies can respond positively when...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:39) >   Innovation is critical to driving growth. Today we are talking about how large companies can take innovation plays from startups' play books to make them more competitive. We will hear from entrepreneurs and McKinsey experts about the techniques they use to go to market and scale quickly with limited resources. We'll...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 14:03) >   Shiny new initiatives can distract you from paying attention to other good but mundane projects and investments. In this episode McKinsey partner Tim Koller, professor of business strategy at the University of Sydney Dan Lovallo, and Sean Brown, discuss why people underinvest in so-called unremarkable projects and ho...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 15:13) >   It’s common for companies to hang on too long to a number of projects or parts of the business that are underperforming but just won’t die. These projects and business units linger because of emotional or legacy attachments that executives have toward them. In this episode McKinsey partner Tim Koller, professor of bu...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:38) >   Anchoring bias can hold back the budgeting process and influence your targets despite your best efforts. Address it and refocus difficult conversations. In this episode McKinsey partner Tim Koller, professor of business strategy at the University of Sydney Dan Lovallo, and Sean Brown, discuss how to tackle anchoring...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:05) >   Despite their best intentions, executives fall prey to cognitive and organizational biases that get in the way of good decision making. In our new Bias Busters series, McKinsey partner Tim Koller and Dan Lovallo, an alumnus of McKinsey’s San Francisco office and professor of business strategy at the University of Syd...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 11:56) >   Companies that focus on the long-term outperform their shorter-term peers on a range of economic and financial metrics including revenue and earnings, market capitalization, and job creation. In this episode, Sean Brown is joined by Bruce Simpson, a senior partner in our Toronto office who recently co-authored a chap...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:35) >   Michael Bender is the global co-leader of McKinsey Digital and Analytics. He spoke with Sean Brown in London about the role CFOs can play in driving digital transformations, the nature of digital transformations more generally, how digital and analytics go hand in hand, and the challenges companies can face when work...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 10:41) >   Working capital is often an under-appreciated source of cash and value creation. Associate partner Matt Stone speaks with Sean Brown in London about how leading companies are unlocking value by implementing effective working capital strategies and world-class advanced analytics and machine learning solutions. Support...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 28:59) >   There is a wealth of research into how new CEOs should successfully transition into the leading role. Less frequently studied is how top CEOs outperform competitors during the second act of their tenures. Sean Brown talks with senior partner Rodney Zemmel and associate partner Matt Cuddihy about the five themes that...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:25) >   Two simple R & D conversion metrics can help executives measure the value of innovation efforts. Senior partner Erik Roth, and associate partners Guttorm Aase and Sri Swaminathan speak with Sean Brown about how companies can gain valuable insights into innovation performance from a pair of metrics that have been hidi...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:51) >   Senior partner Tamim Saleh cuts through the hype around AI in this interview and offers clear guidance for executives looking to make precise strategic decisions about where and how to employ AI in their business. Tamim shares insights on the impact of machine vision on AI, the future of voice recognition, and the la...