Inside the Strategy Room

Over the past three years, Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, has led a transformation of the 150-year-old insurance and investment management company, a journey that has also spanned the entire pandemic. He joins Dame Vivian Hunt, a senior partner in our London office, to talk about how he grounded Prudential’s transformation in the firm’s purpose. 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

Our friends at the Future of America podcast recently published a conversation between IBM CFO and senior vice president Jim Kavanaugh, and McKinsey senior partner and CFO Eric Kutcher. Jim and Eric’s discussion focused on how CFOs and other business leaders can continue to deliver sustainable, inclusive growth in the current challenging environment. They discussed the importance of resilience, and imperatives for today’s business leaders around talent, recruitment, and retention. It's our pleasure to share their conversation with you today. Follow the Future of America podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-america/id1616517376Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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

We discuss what’s commonly referred to as The Great Resignation–a phenomenon sweeping through many industries and countries. As the pandemic has made many of us rethink what matters most in our lives and careers, workers have been leaving their roles in record numbers. What strategies can employers implement to retain their talent? Can they actually turn this challenge into a talent recruitment opportunity? To answer these questions, we’re joined by Bonnie Dowling and Bryan Hancock. Bonnie is an associate partner in our Denver office. Her client work focuses on organizational transformations, and she has deep expertise in end-to-end talent management. Bryan is a partner in our Washington, D.C. office and the global co-leader of our work on talent. You can read Bonnie and Bryan’s article here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/great-attrition-or-great-attraction-the-choice-is-yours 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/itsrSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, Roger Crandall, chairman, president, and CEO of MassMutual, speaks with Pradip Patiath, a leader in McKinsey’s digital financial services practice, about embracing the disruption that’s transforming the insurance industry. Roger reflects on the changes in the industry, the risk environment, and the CEO role. 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/itsrSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

In the second part of our conversation with James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s chairman and CEO, is joined again by Vik Malhotra, a McKinsey senior partner. James reflects on his management style, his relationship with the board, as well as how he nurtures the talent pipeline­–including the “two Cs” that guide his decisions about people. You can find more interviews with the world's top-performing leaders in the acclaimed bestseller, CEO Excellence: The six mindsets that distinguish the best leaders from the rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra.    Follow McKinsey's Strategy and Corporate and Finance practice on LinkedIn and Twitter.    Explore more Inside the Strategy Room podcast episode transcripts at McKinsey.com/itsr.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Vik Malhotra and Asheet Mehta, McKinsey senior partners, talk with James Gorman, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley about how he reshaped the global financial firm's strategy following the global financial crisis. James also discusses how being an expert poker player helps him think through resource allocation.     You can find more interviews with the world's top-performing leaders in the acclaimed bestseller, CEO Excellence: The six mindsets that distinguish the best leaders from the rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra.    Follow McKinsey's Strategy and Corporate and Finance practice on LinkedIn and Twitter.    Explore more Inside the Strategy Room podcast episode transcripts at McKinsey.com/itsr   Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Pradyumna Agrawal is managing director for blockchain and venture building at Temasek, and as such is very active in searching out new use cases for blockchain and forming partnerships that can help bring products for this to market. Prady talks with McKinsey’s innovation leader Erik Roth about how he approaches his work bringing blockchain-based companies to market.     Subscribe to The Committed Innovator podcast series: https://link.chtbl.com/Temasek  A transcript of today’s episode: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-committed-innovator-a-conversation-with-temaseks-pradyumna-agrawal    Transcripts of our podcasts on innovation: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/inside-the-strategy-room-podcast/innovation  Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Spin-offs can give both companies more freedom and improve their performance if executives systematically consider the growth strategies, operations, talent, and cultural changes that each entity will require for a win–win scenario. Four experts join Sean Brown to explain how to best ensure spin-offs create value.  Andy West is a senior partner in our Boston office and co-leads our M&A work globally. He is joined by Jan Krause, a partner based in Cologne who leads our M&A transactions work in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Anthony Luu, an associate partner and expert in M&A strategy development based in our Dallas office, and Anna Mattsson, a partner based in our Zurich office who focuses on M&A strategy, integrations, and divestitures. Andy, Jan and Anthony are also co-authors of the article, “Achieving win-win spin-offs”.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 32:40) >  Bill Osborne, the president of New Zealand Rugby and celebrated All Black player, is one of the few sports stars who later succeeded at translating their skills to the field of business. He went on to serve in senior roles at New Zealand Post and Quotable Value New Zealand. He also served on corporate and not-for-profit boards, including the 2 Degrees telecommunications company, CoreLogic New Zealand, and the Maori Economic Development Commission. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, he tells expert associate partner Guy Mullarkey how his Maori culture and rugby career shaped his approach to business, leadership, and strategy.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information