Inside the Strategy Room

By McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance

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What's Inside the Strategy Room about?

We talk with McKinsey partners and corporate executives on the challenges they face creating lasting strategies in a fast-changing world. We also examine the different ways these executives approach these challenges and the new and innovative ways they think of creating a vision for their enterprises.

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The board’s role during cri...

11.24.2020

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 toward recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Nora Aufreiter sits on ...

Inside the Strategy Room episodes:

11.24.2020 The board’s role during crisis and beyond 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 toward recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Nora Aufreiter sits on ...
11.13.2020 Budget planning for 2021 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 Ishaan Seth, all co-authors of the McKinsey.com article, “Memo to the CFO: A ...
11.03.2020 Building a great digital business 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 a digital offering quickly and effectively despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
10.20.2020 Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, on corporate purpose during a crisis 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, some of which saw massive demand spikes during the height of the pandemic. ...
10.13.2020 The committed innovator: An interview with Salesforce’s Simon Mulcahy 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 orchestrates innovation inside the company and with customers.
09.29.2020 Purpose and the future for capitalism 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 ...
09.23.2020 The committed innovator: An interview with Kellogg’s Nigel Hughes 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 ...
09.23.2020 In conversation: The CEO moment. Episode 2 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 ...
09.21.2020 In conversation: The CEO moment. Episode 1 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 ...
09.17.2020 Why you need to keep changing your company’s business mix 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 ...
08.27.2020 Corporate purpose, during crisis and beyond 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 ...
07.31.2020 Growth through a downturn 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 ...
07.10.2020 In conversation: Innovation in a crisis 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 ...
07.01.2020 In conversation: Culture in M&A 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 ...
06.25.2020 Committing to innovation: A discussion with investor Kevin O’Leary 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 ...
06.18.2020 Choosing the right path to unlock the economy 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 ...
06.15.2020 Transformation and resilience: An interview with Best Buy’s executive chairman Hubert Joly 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 ...
06.12.2020 Planning ahead of the crisis 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 ...
06.10.2020 Navigating unprecedented disruption 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 ...
06.04.2020 Making your business transformation stick 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.
06.01.2020 Protecting our lives and our livelihoods from coronavirus 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 ...
05.29.2020 The war on the coronavirus 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 ...
05.27.2020 Four ways to assess projects and keep them on track 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 ...
05.15.2020 CFO leadership in the COVID-19 crisis 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 ...
05.08.2020 Cash preservation in response to COVID-19 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 ...
04.10.2020 COVID-19: Implications for business 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 ...
04.10.2020 COVID-19: Strategies for getting ahead of the pandemic crisis 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 ...
04.08.2020 COVID-19: How business leaders should plan ahead for the next stage 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 ...
04.07.2020 Why ESG is here to stay 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 ...
04.01.2020 Getting a grip on revenue synergies 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 ...
03.06.2020 What sets the world’s best CEOs apart 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.
02.25.2020 Extracting value from M&A 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 of our leading experts on transactions. Kenneth Bonheure, a senior partner based in ...
01.30.2020 Committing to Innovation: A discussion with Beth Comstock 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 breakthroughs. Beth is an innovation leader who spent almost ...
01.27.2020 A winning formula for deal synergies 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 initiative aimed at understanding how to most effectively ...
01.13.2020 How new CEOs can manage for the future 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 expense of short-term returns? Carolyn Dewar and ...
12.30.2019 Digital disruption and the role of M&A 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 their organizations to compete in the digital age. In today’s podcast, Cam MacKellar, a ...
12.20.2019 Corporate diversity: if you don’t measure it, it won’t get done 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 attendees. This episode is an edited recording of the session. Celia ...
12.02.2019 Strategy at the speed of digital 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 Laura LaBerge, a member of our digital strategy ...
11.19.2019 Partners in profit: Creating successful business alliances 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 Finance communications director Sean Brown, they discuss the four key ...
11.04.2019 Stronger for longer: How top performers thrive through downturns 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 ...
10.28.2019 Jumpstart a better way to do strategy 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 ...
10.21.2019 How to make the bold moves that matter 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 ...
10.14.2019 Measuring your strategy’s odds of success 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, ...
10.02.2019 Reinventing the CFO for the digital age 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 ...
09.30.2019 Framing reinvention: What disruptive change means for business, society, and you 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. ...
09.20.2019 How CFOs should drive digital transformations 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 ...
08.13.2019 Resilience and value: A CFO toolkit for withstanding shocks 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 ...
07.15.2019 The diversity opportunity for new CEOs 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 ...
07.10.2019 Want better strategies? Become a bulletproof problem solver 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 ...
06.25.2019 Creating high-performance innovation teams at scale 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 ...

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