Inside the Strategy Room

The gaps in performance between different sectors, and the companies within those sectors, increased last year. A major reason is a small group of outperformers that already had massive stock valuations before the COVID-19 crisis and have pulled further ahead since. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, co-authors of a recent article discuss what the performance of capital markets during the pandemic indicates about future economic and investment trends. Tim Koller is a leader in McKinsey & Company’s corporate finance practice and the author of the best-selling book, Valuation. Peter Stumpner leads the corporate performance analytics group within the Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. He is the co-author of another article on which this podcast is based, “The impact of COVID-19 on capital markets, one year in.”Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

An innovation strategy has to be backed with resources and patient follow-through, says Peter Kjellberg, the guest on this episode of the Committed Innovator series, part of our Inside the Strategy Room podcast. In a conversation with Erik Roth, who leads McKinsey & Company’s innovation work globally, the chief marketing officer for the Swedish maker of products for mobile and outdoor living and the home, describes how Dometic Group seized the recent rapid growth in food and beverage delivery to create new products for the industry and consumers.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Patrick Finn, a leader in McKinsey & Company's Healthcare Systems, joins experts Mihir Mysore and Ophelia Usher to tackle the complexities of managing during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. They discuss adaptive leadership and the importance of reassessing strategies under extreme uncertainty. The conversation highlights the impact of optimism bias and the need for clear decision-making processes. They emphasize selecting resilient leaders and developing a comprehensive playbook to navigate unpredictability and enhance organizational mental health.

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:43) >  Boards of directors play a critical role in ensuring that management is well prepared for a wide range of potential shocks. In the fourth episode of our series on board perspectives around the most important issues facing organizations, this podcast looks at the role that boards play in building resilient companies. Frithjof Lund, who heads our board services work, leads a discussion with Gordon Orr, a non executive member of several companies’ boards and a McKinsey senior partner emeritus, and Martin Hirt, the global co-leader of McKinsey’s Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice. member of several companies’ boards and a McKinsey senior partner emeritus, and Martin Hirt, the global co-leader of McKinsey’s Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice.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: 40:13) >  A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) indicates that up to 25 percent more workers than previously estimated may need to switch occupations. This episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast looks at how the pandemic crisis has permanently changed workplace conditions and skillsets needs, and how corporate leaders can prepare for this future. Susan Lund, an MGI leader and expert in global labor markets, is joined by her report co-author Sven Smit, co-chair of MGI, who helps leading companies develop strategies for growth. This is an edited transcript of the discussion.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Misconceptions abound about what corporations and start-ups should expect from their partnerships on innovation projects. Yet these collaborations are growing in importance as companies of all sizes try to rapidly respond to shifts in the marketplace, as our recent article highlights. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Miao Wang, a leader in McKinsey’s innovation practice, is joined by Tawanda Sibanda, a partner with Leap by McKinsey, which helps established organizations build and scale new businesses, and Tobias Henz, who focuses on bringing corporates and start-ups together around digitization and data, to discuss ways to improve the odds of success of such partnerships.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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 Inside the Strategy Room podcast, two McKinsey experts, who recently published an article on the topic, explain why technological investments must now be part of strategic planning at the highest corporate levels. Krish Krishnakanthan is a leader in McKinsey’s application maintenance and development work across North America, focusing on the high-tech and financial services sectors, and Gayatri Shenai helps clients drive transformative change at the intersection of strategy, digital, and operations. Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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 globally, the growing optimism about the economic recovery, and the numerous other forces driving the recent rapid uptick in M&A activity.   A transcript of this podcast will soon be available on the Inside the Strategy Room podcast collection page on McKinsey.com, where you can also easily explore, filter, and search our library of nearly 50 previous episodes. If you would like to share feedback or an idea for a future podcast, you can reach us at insidethestrategyroom@mckinsey.com. If you would like to receive alerts on our latest insights, you can sign up on the bottom of our podcast collection page on McKinsey.com, follow us on Twitter at @McKStrategy, and connect with us on LinkedIn via our McKinsey Strategy and Corporate Finance page.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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 inspired business leaders to raise the bar on their cash practices. Cash liquidity is now at the top of the vast majority of CFO and c-suite agendas.   Three finance experts joined us to discuss best practices in cash management. Christian Grube leads our CFO finance practice in Germany and serves clients in the automotive, health care, and manufacturing industries on a broad range of CFO topics.   Sun-You Park - an associate partner in our London office and a core member of our practice in Europe. She leads our cash service line in EMEA, and her client work is focused on cash and transformation topics across the energy, natural resources, and advanced industrials sectors.   Sun-You and Christian recently co-authored an article on cash excellence, which you can find on McKinsey dot com by searching for “Moving from cash preservation to cash excellence for the next normal”.   We are also joined by Hugo Bague. Hugo most recently was group executive of organizational resources at Rio Tinto and is now a senior advisor to McKinsey.  He has more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles in human resources and support functions, driving HR transformations, complex merger integrations, and cost and support function transformations.  Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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 Lund, the leader of our board services work, leading a discussion with three experts. Aaron De Smet, who helps organizations improve their performance and agility, and senior expert Leigh Weiss are co-authors of a recent article about decision making in uncertain times. Suzanne Nimocks is a director on the boards of ArcelorMittal, Owens Corning, Ovintiv (formerly Encana) and Valaris (formerly Ensco Rowan), as well as a former senior McKinsey partner. We hope you enjoy the discussion.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information