Podcasts by 301 Moved Permanently

Business priorities in the post-pandemic era from 2021-03-22T15:00

John Waldron, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, joins McKinsey Global Managing Partner, Kevin Sneader, and Senior Partner, Carolyn Dewar to discuss the state of business gl...

Moving from cash preservation to cash excellence from 2021-03-19T05:00

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 importance of prudent cash management and i...

Boards and decision making from 2021-03-12T05:00

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

You’ll hear Frithjof L...

The committed innovator: A conversation with board director Ireena Vittal. Part 2 from 2021-03-04T05:00

This is the second part of Erik Roth’s interview with Ireena Vittal. In the first part of their conversation, they discussed the importance of taking a very granular approach to markets in developi...

The committed innovator: A conversation with board director Ireena Vittal from 2021-02-26T05:00

In today’s episode, Erik Roth, who leads our innovation work globally, discusses innovation in the context of developing markets with Ireena Vittal. Ireena has spent 30 years helping both multinati...

The COVID-Exit from 2021-02-11T06:00:30

This episode examines how business leaders should plan the transition from managing operations through the crisis to establishing a foundation for growth in the post-COVID-19 era. It features two p...

The committed innovator: A conversation with Neal Gutterson of Corteva from 2021-02-02T06:00:19

This episode explores innovation in the agriculture sector. Erik Roth, leader of McKinsey’s innovation work globally, talks with Neal Gutterson, who recently retired as CTO of agricultural chemical...

The great acceleration from 2021-01-26T05:00

In this episode, co-authors of two recent articles—on growth strategies during downturns and the acceleration of trends since the pandemic’s start—help shed light on the reasons behind the widening...

Boards and cybersecurity from 2021-01-20T06:00:41

The board agenda has been crowded since the start of the pandemic, and many issues have acquired new urgency. This episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast focuses on board priorities in the...

Boards and sustainability from 2020-12-29T05:00

This is the first episode in a new series on board perspectives around high-priority corporate issues. In this session, Frithjof Lund, a senior partner in our Oslo office and leader of our board se...

Boards, strategy and the new risk environment from 2020-12-22T05:00

This year has been a challenging one for boards of directors. The pressure on boards has been increasing as they work to manage the continuing impact of the pandemic on the direction and strategies...

The committed innovator: An interview with Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo from 2020-12-15T04:00

In this episode, Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey’s innovation work globally, talks with Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo, about her experience reinventing the online video platform’s business model. It is th...

Ensuring the health of your business partnerships from 2020-12-04T05:00:40

In the past few months, alliances and joint ventures have been essential for many companies to meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. But during crises, strain can emerge even among allie...

The board’s role during crisis and beyond from 2020-11-24T07:00:40

McKinsey senior partner Celia Huber, who leads our board services work in North America, talks with three seasoned board directors about the role boards are playing in guiding their companies towar...

Budget planning for 2021 from 2020-11-13T05:00:18

Budgeting for the coming calendar year entails unique challenges, given the uncertainty about the pandemic’s continuing impact. In this episode, Ankur Agrawal, Christian Grube, Matthew Maloney, and...

Building a great digital business from 2020-11-03T05:00

In recent months, many companies have rushed to build digital businesses to overcome pandemic-induced disruptions and address shifts in customer behavior. In this episode, we explore how to develop...

Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, on corporate purpose during a crisis from 2020-10-20T05:00

Senior partner Celia Huber speaks with Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser. The UK-based global consumer-goods company focuses on products in health, hygiene, and nutrition categories, ...

The committed innovator: An interview with Salesforce’s Simon Mulcahy from 2020-10-13T05:00:09

In this episode Simon Mulcahy, Salesforce’s executive vice president and chief innovation officer, discusses the ways the COVID-19 crisis has reshaped the sales function, and how Salesforce orchest...

Purpose and the future for capitalism from 2020-09-29T06:00:03

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, ...

The committed innovator: An interview with Kellogg’s Nigel Hughes from 2020-09-23T07:00

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 globa...

In conversation: The CEO moment. Episode 2 from 2020-09-23T06:00

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 Caro...

In conversation: The CEO moment. Episode 1 from 2020-09-21T06:00:13

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...

Why you need to keep changing your company’s business mix from 2020-09-17T07:00:39

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 c...

Corporate purpose, during crisis and beyond from 2020-08-27T07:00

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 ...

Growth through a downturn from 2020-07-31T07:00:34

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 ...

In conversation: Innovation in a crisis from 2020-07-10T07:00:35

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 m...

In conversation: Culture in M&A from 2020-07-01T07:00

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 ...

Committing to innovation: A discussion with investor Kevin O’Leary from 2020-06-25T07:00:02

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...

Choosing the right path to unlock the economy from 2020-06-18T07:00

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...

Transformation and resilience: An interview with Best Buy’s executive chairman Hubert Joly from 2020-06-15T07:00

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 ...

Planning ahead of the crisis from 2020-06-12T07:00

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 fi...

Navigating unprecedented disruption from 2020-06-10T07:00:19

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 w...

Making your business transformation stick from 2020-06-04T07:00

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.

Protecting our lives and our livelihoods from coronavirus from 2020-06-01T07:00

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 go...

The war on the coronavirus from 2020-05-29T07:00:18

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 22...

Four ways to assess projects and keep them on track from 2020-05-27T07:00:07

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...

CFO leadership in the COVID-19 crisis from 2020-05-15T07:00:47

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...

Cash preservation in response to COVID-19 from 2020-05-08T07:00:54

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 ...

COVID-19: Implications for business from 2020-04-10T06:00:18

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 t...

COVID-19: How business leaders should plan ahead for the next stage from 2020-04-08T07:00:17

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...

Why ESG is here to stay from 2020-04-07T07:00

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 p...

Getting a grip on revenue synergies from 2020-04-01T07:00:08

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 chal...

What sets the world’s best CEOs apart from 2020-03-06T07:00:43

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 lead...

Extracting value from M&A from 2020-02-25T07:00

Successful mergers and acquisitions require more than just a strong M&A strategy and target list. They also demand well-planned execution, communication, and integration.

We talk with two...

Committing to Innovation: A discussion with Beth Comstock from 2020-01-30T05:00

Beth Comstock, former vice chair of GE, and McKinsey senior partner Erik Roth discuss how a tolerance for risk, patience, and thinking small (where funding is concerned) can lead to innovation brea...

A winning formula for deal synergies from 2020-01-27T07:00

Senior partner Andy West and partner Jeff Rudnicki, two of McKinsey’s most seasoned M&A experts, discuss what they have learned from their recent work with clients of the Synergy Lab, a new initiat...

How new CEOs can manage for the future from 2020-01-13T07:00

Today we’re talking with two McKinsey senior partners about a dilemma that many new CEOs face: should they focus on showing quick results or invest in the company’s long-term future, even at the ex...

Digital disruption and the role of M&A from 2019-12-30T06:00

With digital technologies unleashing ever more change in industry structures and company business models, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures are an important way for companies to reposition th...

Corporate diversity: if you don’t measure it, it won’t get done from 2019-12-20T05:00

At our CFO Forum in London, senior partners Celia Huber and Vivian Hunt led a discussion on corporate diversity, sharing insights from McKinsey’s ongoing research and answering questions from atten...

Strategy at the speed of digital from 2019-12-02T10:00

In this episode you’ll hear from the co-authors of a recent McKinsey Quarterly article, “The drumbeat of digital: How winning teams play.” Tanguy Catlin, a senior partner in our Boston office, and...

Partners in profit: Creating successful business alliances from 2019-11-19T09:00

In this episode Ruth De Backer and Eileen Kelly Rinaudo take us through a detailed masterclass on ways to manage business partnerships successfully. In their conversation with Strategy & Corporate ...

Stronger for longer: How top performers thrive through downturns from 2019-11-04T07:00

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 ...

Jumpstart a better way to do strategy from 2019-10-28T07:00

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 ...

How to make the bold moves that matter from 2019-10-21T07:00

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 perfo...

Measuring your strategy’s odds of success from 2019-10-14T07:00

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 ...

Reinventing the CFO for the digital age from 2019-10-02T07:00

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...

Framing reinvention: What disruptive change means for business, society, and you from 2019-09-30T07:00

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 d...

How CFOs should drive digital transformations from 2019-09-20T07:00

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 wit...

Resilience and value: A CFO toolkit for withstanding shocks from 2019-08-13T08:00

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 Mart...

The diversity opportunity for new CEOs from 2019-07-15T10:00

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. ...

Want better strategies? Become a bulletproof problem solver from 2019-07-10T10:00

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...

Creating high-performance innovation teams at scale from 2019-06-25T10:00

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 wi...

Active portfolio management: An interview with Andy West from 2019-06-04T10:00

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 ...

The evolution of the CFO from 2019-05-29T10:00

CFOs are playing an increasingly pivotal role driving change in their companies. How should they balance their traditional responsibilities with the new CFO mandate?

The pros and cons of activist investors from 2019-04-30T07:00

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 impr...

How to move fast: Innovation at speed and scale from 2019-03-07T10:00

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 entrepr...

Bias busters: How to resist the allure of ‘glamour’ projects from 2019-02-27T10:00

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 U...

Bias busters: How to avoid losses and prune projects proactively from 2019-02-20T10:00

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 emoti...

Bias busters: How to be objective about budgets from 2019-02-13T10:00

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,...

Bias busters: How to make better decisions with the ‘outside view’ from 2019-02-05T10:00

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 a...

Why long-term value is a winning bet from 2018-12-19T10:00

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 th...

Digital transformation: The CFO's role from 2018-12-12T10:00:09

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 t...

Make working capital work harder for you from 2018-11-28T14:00

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 imp...

How leading CEOs manage their middle tenure from 2018-10-11T07:15

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 t...

How to take the measure of innovation from 2018-09-24T10:00

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 Br...

Demystifying AI and machine learning for executives from 2018-09-04T07:00

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...

Building gender diversity on boards from 2018-08-27T07:00

Celia Huber, Senior Partner in our Silicon Valley office, on how companies can build and benefit from gender diversity on boards.

How to avoid digital strategy pitfalls from 2018-08-20T12:00

Most digital strategies don’t reflect how digital is changing economic fundamentals, industry dynamics, or what it means to compete.

Inside the strategy room: One CEO’s approach from 2018-08-02T17:00

Deanna Mulligan, president and CEO of Guardian Life Insurance, reflects on how she approaches strategy planning in an industry with strong headwinds.