Inside the Strategy Room

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:24) >   We hear from two award-winning American economists about how capitalism and corporate purpose could evolve to more broadly benefit society, especially in this current time of crisis. Yuval Atsmon, a senior partner in our London office, spoke with professor Anne Case and Nobel prize winner, Angus Deaton, about their n...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:15) >   Nigel Hughes, head of R&D and Innovation at Kellogg Company, speaks with Stacey Haas, who heads up McKinsey’s Consumer Innovation practice, and Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey’s innovation work globally. Hear Nigel’s perspective on the evolution of the CPG industry’s approach to innovation and how Kellogg itself is bei...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 13:52) >   Today we'll cover the two remaining shifts CEOs are making in this moment; embracing stakeholder capitalism and leveraging peer networks. Sharing their insights on this topic with us today are Carolyn Dewar who co-leads our CEO Excellence work, and Monica Murarka who is a senior expert and leader also of the McKinsey...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:19) >   The COVID-19 crisis has put CEOs and the organizations they lead under great pressure. At the same time, it has provided a once-in-a-generation opportunity for chief executives to evolve the nature and impact of their role. The authors of a McKinsey Quarterly article, “The CEO moment: Leadership for a new era,” descr...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:15) >   One of the perennial questions corporate leaders ask is which businesses their company should be in. Our recent article, “Why you’ve got to put your portfolio on the move,” suggests that regularly changing the portfolio mix in response to market trends is the surest path to outperformance. During our European M&A con...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:59) >   In this episode we present a panel discussion on how companies are using corporate purpose to guide their response to the COVID-19 crisis and the nascent recovery. Bruce Simpson, a McKinsey senior partner and co-author of the recent article, “Demonstrating corporate purpose in the time of coronavirus,” talks with fou...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:34) >   For many business leaders wrestling with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, growth may seem like a distant priority. However, once the health of employees is protected and the business is secured, many executives will quickly shift their focus to restarting the stalled growth engine. A recent McKinsey.com ar...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:03) >   As companies focus on navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, many are putting innovation on the back burner. But as two of McKinsey’s top experts on innovation explain, these organizations may miss out on rare opportunities to reinvent their businesses for the post-crisis era.  We hear from Laura Furstenthal who l...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 15:38) >   Among the many factors companies weigh when embarking on mergers and acquisitions, culture is one that often gets short shrift. Yet it often plays a crucial role in a deal’s success or failure. In this episode Becky Kaetzler, a leader in McKinsey’s M&A practice, explains how to conduct cultural due diligence to help...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:55) >   In this episode Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey’s global innovation practice, interviews Kevin O’Leary as part of our ongoing series on innovation. The Canadian entrepreneur, best known as one of the investors featured on the American reality TV series Shark Tank, shares his bets on innovation’s next frontier. Support...

In this episode we try to answer two urgent questions: how should governments approach the different possible paths to reopening their economies? And what is needed to spur businesses and consumers to start spending again?  Two McKinsey senior partners who have been deeply involved in helping companies navigate the coronavirus pandemic discuss the current uncertainty and its impact on economic rec...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 43:54) >   Hubert Joly, the former CEO and now executive chairman of Best Buy, speaks with Becca Coggins, a leader in McKinsey’s global retail practice, about Best Buy’s organizational transformation and how the coronavirus pandemic is changing the key measures of performance. This interview was recorded at the 2020 Global Busi...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:54) >   The coronavirus outbreak is shaping up to be the biggest economic crisis since World War II. The challenges associated with the virus are much larger than companies are used to dealing with, and firms need to have an adaptable operating model that can withstand an extraordinary level of uncertainty. How can companies...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:32) >   In early April we sat down with two leaders from the McKinsey Global Institute to discuss their perspectives on how the long-term, structural trends driving global disruption are now intersecting with the current economic and health crisis. Jonathan Woetzel is a senior partner and director of the McKinsey Global Inst...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:58) >   In this episode, McKinsey contributor Cam MacKellar talks with two senior partners, Chris Bradley and Wesley Walden, about their research on improving the results of business transformation efforts. Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/ See www.mckinsey.com/privacy...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:21) >   The COVID crisis has dominated headlines - and our lives - and it’s still not clear when and how we will return to the world we knew. Many questions remain. How will communities, businesses, and governments continue to respond to the crisis and what are the range of possible scenarios for decision makers to consider?...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 41:24) >   McKinsey partner Yuval Atsmon talks with three top US Air Force and Navy leaders about what corporate executives can learn from the practices of military commanders. Michael Donley served as the 22nd secretary of the United States Air Force. He has 30 years of experience in the national security community, including...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 37:07) >   Biases can lead executives to misjudge project potential, ignore potential pitfalls, and leave failures to fester. In this episode, McKinsey partner Tim Koller and University of Sydney professor of business strategy Dan Lovallo speak with McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance communications director Sean Brown about...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:12) >   As companies craft their responses to the COVID-19 crisis, CFOs are in the thick of the action. They need to make sure that their organizations weather the immediate business shocks while preparing them to emerge from the crisis in the best possible shape. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Stra...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:05) >   During the COVID-19 crisis, a core priority for many companies is preserving cash. In this episode, Strategy and Corporate Finance communications director Sean Brown talks with three of McKinsey’s corporate finance experts about the best ways to ensure liquidity now and manage cash and working capital as the business...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:30) >   In this episode we share excerpts from a webcast session on COVID-19’s implications for business resilience. It was recorded at the 2020 Global Business Leaders Forum, which had been scheduled to take place in New York in early April but was instead held online. In conversation with Strategy and Corporate Finance com...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 23:11) >   In early April 2020 we hosted our annual Global Business Leaders Forum. We held the Forum online and focused the first day on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on business. Martin Hirt, a senior partner in our Greater China Office and the global co-leader of the Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice, recently co...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:34) >   Environmental, social, and governance(ESG) issues are playing an increasing role in companies’ decisions around mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. But how do these factors link to corporate performance and deal potential? In this episode, two experts share their insights on navigating this fast-changing landsca...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:39) >   With the cost of money low and the competition for deals high, revenue synergies are playing a bigger part in the rationale for acquisitions. In this episode, three McKinsey experts discuss the challenges around capturing revenue synergies in mergers. In their conversation with Strategy & Corporate Finance communicat...

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 33:05) >   McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller discuss the six dimensions that separate exceptional CEOs from the rest of the pack. They also provide guidance on how current and future leaders can join that elite group. Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance...