Inside the Strategy Room

123. How to make good ideas great and great ideas scale with John A. List


Listen Later

American economist and author John A. List joins us to discuss his new book, ‘The Voltage Effect: How to make good ideas great and great ideas scale’. John is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. His research includes over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and several published textbooks.

He has also worked both in government and the private sector as chief economist for Uber, Lyft, and now Walmart. His book argues that scaling is subject to the so-called ‘Anna Karenina principle’–meaning that even if one factor is wrong, the entire endeavor will fail.

In this conversation with Yuval Atsmon, a senior partner in our London office, John explores ways in which business leaders can assess whether an idea has the power–or ‘the voltage’ to use his phrase–to successfully scale.

You can learn more about John’s book here: https://www.thevoltageeffect.com/

Follow McKinsey's Strategy and Corporate and Finance practice on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance

Explore more Inside the Strategy Room podcast episode transcripts:
https://www.mckinsey.com/itsr

Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Inside the Strategy RoomBy McKinsey & Company

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

158 ratings


More shows like Inside the Strategy Room

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

262 Listeners

The Look & Sound of Leadership by Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

The Look & Sound of Leadership

1,158 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

372 Listeners

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving by FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

107 Listeners

Gartner ThinkCast by Gartner

Gartner ThinkCast

107 Listeners

Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

Cold Call

193 Listeners

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View by Azeem Azhar

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

607 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

3,968 Listeners

HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

HBS Managing the Future of Work

107 Listeners

Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast by Hugh MacArthur, Bain & Company

Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

138 Listeners

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

773 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

627 Listeners

The So What from BCG by Boston Consulting Group BCG

The So What from BCG

222 Listeners

HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Strategy

80 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

137 Listeners