Inside the Strategy Room

102. Boards and the cloud

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As organizations increasingly grapple with digital transformations, large technology investments, and shifts to the cloud, these issues regularly appe...

101. Improving strategic outcomes with advanced analytics

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we explore how digital analytics is revolutionizing strategy. Nicholas Northcote, who for years led McKinsey’s research on stra...

100. The Committed Innovator: Loonshots author Safi Bahcall

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 50:13) >  Companies looking to bring breakthrough innovations to life need th...

99. The corporation in the 21st century

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What responsibilities does business have to society and what benefits do companies deliver to stakeholders and society at large? In this episode of th...

98. Agile business portfolio management

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In business, breaking up is hard to do. While divesting businesses in a timely manner is an essential aspect of effective portfolio management, compan...

97. Innovation—the launchpad out of the crisis

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As companies prepare for the recovery from the pandemic, many leaders hope innovation will set them up for the next phase of growth. In this episode, ...

96. The making of a megadeal: Howard Ungerleider on the merger of Dow and DuPont

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:14) >  The combination of Dow Chemical and DuPont in 2017, followed by a s...

95. Boards, Talent, and Culture

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:36) >  Board members are increasingly challenging management to ensure the...

94. The Committed Innovator: Amy Brooks of the NBA

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:01) >  The COVID-19 pandemic forced the National Basketball Association (N...

93. Ron O’Hanley of State Street on corporate resilience and ESG

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:48) >  As chairman and CEO of State Street Corporation, Ron O’Hanley ove...

92. Michelle Gass of Kohl’s on shifting from survival to growth

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 33:26) >  For Michelle Gass, the CEO of US retail chain Kohl’s, the pandemi...

91. The Committed Innovator: Tanya Baker of Goldman Sachs Accelerate

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:47) >  As the global leader of GS Accelerate, Goldman Sachs’ internal in...

90. The 21st century corporation: A conversation with Brian Chesky of Airbnb

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Airbnb navigated a major crisis in 2020–the online marketplace went from having its long-term survival questioned to staging a successful IPO severa...

89. Untangling the often mysterious process of joining a corporate board

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 28:59) >  The process of joining a public company’s board tends to be compl...

88. Kevin Sneader on the eight trends that will define 2021–and beyond

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Crises tend to give rise to remarkable innovations and insights. Today is just such a moment, raising challenges to many long-held beliefs about how c...

87. Preparing for future growth: A conversation with Simon Pryce of Ultra Electronics

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:40) >  As the former CEO of BBA Aviation and a senior executive at GKN, Si...

86. The impact of COVID-19 on capital markets

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The gaps in performance between different sectors, and the companies within those sectors, increased last year. A major reason is a small group of out...

85. The Committed Innovator: Dometic’s Peter Kjellberg

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An innovation strategy has to be backed with resources and patient follow-through, says Peter Kjellberg, the guest on this episode of the Committed In...

84. Managing in extreme uncertainty

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a time of crisis, especially one as deep and unique as the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty is extreme and information changes daily. Most organizati...

83. The role of boards in fostering resilience

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:43) >  Boards of directors play a critical role in ensuring that managemen...

82. The workforce of the future

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 40:13) >  A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) indicates tha...

81. Collaborations between corporates and start-ups

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Misconceptions abound about what corporations and start-ups should expect from their partnerships on innovation projects. Yet these collaborations are...

80. The CEO’s new technology agenda

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the past, top business leaders tended to delegate technology and IT priorities to specialists, but that is rapidly changing. In this episode of the...

79. Business priorities in the post-pandemic era

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

John Waldron, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, joins McKinsey Global Managing Partner, Kevin Sneader, and Senior Partner, Carol...

78. Moving from cash preservation to cash excellence

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the early days of the pandemic, preserving cash was a matter of survival for many companies. The sudden need for liquidity highlighted the critical...

77. Boards and decision making

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we tackle the topic of decision making in the boardroom. What has the pandemic taught board directors about making high-consequence, low-probabi...

76. The Committed Innovator: Board director Ireena Vittal. Part 2

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:49) >  This is the second part of Erik Roth’s interview with Ireena Vitt...

75. The Committed Innovator: Board director Ireena Vittal

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:13) >  In today’s episode, Erik Roth, who leads our innovation work glob...

74. The COVID-Exit

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:57) >  This episode examines how business leaders should plan the transiti...

73. The Committed Innovator: Neal Gutterson of Corteva

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:42) >  This episode explores innovation in the agriculture sector. Erik Ro...

72. The great acceleration

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:18) >  In this episode, co-authors of two recent articles—on growth stra...

71. Boards and cybersecurity

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:27) >  The board agenda has been crowded since the start of the pandemic, ...

70. Boards and sustainability

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:18) >  This is the first episode in a new series on board perspectives aro...

69. Boards, strategy and the new risk environment

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:49) >  This year has been a challenging one for boards of directors. The p...

68. The Committed Innovator: Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 33:48) >  In this episode, Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey’s innovation work ...

67. Ensuring the health of your business partnerships

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 42:15) >  In the past few months, alliances and joint ventures have been esse...

66. The board’s role during crisis and beyond

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 40:30) >  McKinsey senior partner Celia Huber, who leads our board services w...

65. Budget planning for 2021

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 37:50) >  Budgeting for the coming calendar year entails unique challenges, g...

64. Building a great digital business

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:43) >  In recent months, many companies have rushed to build digital busin...

63. Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, on corporate purpose during a crisis

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 28:18) >  Senior partner Celia Huber speaks with Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO o...

62. The Committed Innovator: Salesforce’s Simon Mulcahy

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:54) >  In this episode Simon Mulcahy, Salesforce’s executive vice presid...

61. Purpose and the future for capitalism

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:24) >  We hear from two award-winning American economists about how capita...

60. The Committed Innovator: Kellogg’s Nigel Hughes

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:15) >  Nigel Hughes, head of R&D and Innovation at Kellogg Company, speaks...

59. The CEO moment. Episode 2

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 13:52) >  Today we'll cover the two remaining shifts CEOs are making in this ...

58. The CEO moment. Episode 1

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:19) >  The COVID-19 crisis has put CEOs and the organizations they lead un...

57. Why you need to keep changing your company’s business mix

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:15) >  One of the perennial questions corporate leaders ask is which busin...

56. Corporate purpose, during crisis and beyond

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:59) >  In this episode we present a panel discussion on how companies are ...

55. Growth through a downturn

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:34) >  For many business leaders wrestling with the challenges of the coro...

54. Innovation in a crisis

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:03) >  As companies focus on navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, man...

53. Culture in M&A

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 15:38) >  Among the many factors companies weigh when embarking on mergers an...

52. The Committed Innovator: Investor Kevin O’Leary

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:55) >  In this episode Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey’s global innovation...

51. Choosing the right path to unlock the economy

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we try to answer two urgent questions: how should governments approach the different possible paths to reopening their economies? And ...

50. Transformation and resilience: An interview with Best Buy’s executive chairman Hubert Joly

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 43:54) >  Hubert Joly, the former CEO and now executive chairman of Best Buy,...

49. Planning ahead of the crisis

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:54) >  The coronavirus outbreak is shaping up to be the biggest economic c...

48. Navigating unprecedented disruption

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 29:32) >  In early April we sat down with two leaders from the McKinsey Globa...

47. Making your business transformation stick

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:58) >  In this episode, McKinsey contributor Cam MacKellar talks with two ...

46. Protecting our lives and our livelihoods from coronavirus

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:21) >  The COVID crisis has dominated headlines - and our lives - and it’...

45. The war on the coronavirus

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 41:24) >  McKinsey partner Yuval Atsmon talks with three top US Air Force and...

44. Four ways to assess projects and keep them on track

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 37:07) >  Biases can lead executives to misjudge project potential, ignore po...

43. CFO leadership in the COVID-19 crisis

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:12) >  As companies craft their responses to the COVID-19 crisis, CFOs are...

42. Cash preservation in response to COVID-19

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 27:05) >  During the COVID-19 crisis, a core priority for many companies is p...

41. COVID-19: Implications for business

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:30) >  In this episode we share excerpts from a webcast session on COVID-1...

40. COVID-19: How business leaders should plan ahead for the next stage

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 23:11) >  In early April 2020 we hosted our annual Global Business Leaders Fo...

39. Why ESG is here to stay

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:34) >  Environmental, social, and governance(ESG) issues are playing an in...

38. Getting a grip on revenue synergies

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:39) >  With the cost of money low and the competition for deals high, reve...

37. What sets the world’s best CEOs apart

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 33:05) >  McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller discuss the...

36. Extracting value from M&A

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 16:01) >  Successful mergers and acquisitions require more than just a strong...

35. The Committed Innovator: Beth Comstock

30 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:41) >  Beth Comstock, former vice chair of GE, and McKinsey senior partner...

34. A winning formula for deal synergies

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 35:07) >  Senior partner Andy West and partner Jeff Rudnicki, two of McKinsey...

33. How new CEOs can manage for the future

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 41:41) >  Today we’re talking with two McKinsey senior partners about a dil...

32. Digital disruption and the role of M&A

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 16:46) >  With digital technologies unleashing ever more change in industry s...

31. Corporate diversity: if you don’t measure it, it won’t get done

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:13) >  At our CFO Forum in London, senior partners Celia Huber and Vivian ...

30. Strategy at the speed of digital

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 39:45) >  In this episode you’ll hear from the co-authors of a recent McKin...

29. Partners in profit: Creating successful business alliances

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 44:03) >  In this episode Ruth De Backer and Eileen Kelly Rinaudo take us thr...

28. Stronger for longer: How top performers thrive through downturns

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:33) >  We talk with two of our experts about their new research on corpora...

27. Jumpstart a better way to do strategy

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:27) >  We continue our discussion on the factors that most affect a strate...

26. How to make the bold strategy moves that matter

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:39) >  We continue our discussion with three senior partners about their r...

25. Measuring your strategy’s odds of success

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 19:31) >  In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, McKinsey s...

24. Reinventing the CFO for the digital age

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 16:41) >  The demands on CFOs are rising, along with the scale and influence ...

23. Framing reinvention: What disruptive change means for business, society, and you

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:00) >  In this episodewe share McKinsey global managing partner Kevin Snea...

22. How CFOs should drive digital transformations

20 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:20) >  Senior partners Tanguy Catlin and Kate Smaje discuss their recent w...

21. Resilience and value: A CFO toolkit for withstanding shocks

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:30) >  While economic downturns are impossible to predict, it is never too...

20. The diversity opportunity for new CEOs

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 13:46) >  When we talk about organizations we often think in terms of their p...

19. Want better strategies? Become a bulletproof problem solver

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:07) >  As the pace of social, economic, and technological change accelerat...

18. Creating high-performance innovation teams at scale

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:13) >  Most CEOs understand that innovation is a team sport. The challenge...

17. Active portfolio management: An interview with Andy West

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:03) >  Andy West on recent trends in mergers and acquisitions and the impo...

16. The evolution of the CFO

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 21:17) >  CFOs are playing an increasingly pivotal role driving change in the...

15. The pros and cons of activist investors

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 9:34) >  Management teams who engage positively with attackers may find activ...

14. How to move fast: Innovation at speed and scale

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 34:39) >  Innovation is critical to driving growth. Today we are talking abou...

13. Bias busters: How to resist the allure of ‘glamour’ projects

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 14:03) >  Shiny new initiatives can distract you from paying attention to oth...

12. Bias busters: How to avoid losses and prune projects proactively

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 15:13) >  It’s common for companies to hang on too long to a number of proj...

11. Bias busters: How to be objective about budgets

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 18:38) >  Anchoring bias can hold back the budgeting process and influence yo...

10. Bias busters: How to make better decisions with the ‘outside view’

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 22:05) >  Despite their best intentions, executives fall prey to cognitive an...

9. Why long-term value is a winning bet

19 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 11:56) >  Companies that focus on the long-term outperform their shorter-term...

8. Digital transformation: The CFO's role

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 25:35) >  Michael Bender is the global co-leader of McKinsey Digital and Anal...

7. Make working capital work harder for you

28 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 10:41) >  Working capital is often an under-appreciated source of cash and va...

6. How leading CEOs manage their middle tenure

11 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 28:59) >  There is a wealth of research into how new CEOs should successfully...

5. How to take the measure of innovation

24 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 24:25) >  Two simple R & D conversion metrics can help executives measure the...

4. Demystifying AI and machine learning for executives

04 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:51) >  Senior partner Tamim Saleh cuts through the hype around AI in this ...

3. Building gender diversity on boards

27 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 13:54) >  Celia Huber, Senior Partner in our Silicon Valley office, on how co...