The McKinsey Podcast
The McKinsey Podcast takes listeners inside McKinsey & Company, a global management-consulting firm. It features conversations with experts on topics that matter most in business and management, including strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.
Episodes
The playbook for seeing around geopolitical corners
Geopolitical surprise has become a permanent cost of doing business—and a one-size-fits-all approach to scenario planning can’t keep pace with it. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics Ziad Haider joins Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to unpack five tools for sharpening foresight: horizon scanning, scenario planning, contingency planning,
The hidden value of physical AI
Nearly half of all paid work hours are tied to physical tasks, from moving and making things to inspecting equipment and transporting goods. Today, much of that work remains beyond the reach of traditional automation. Physical AI could begin to change that, expanding the range of tasks machines can perform reliably, safely, and economically. That means more than robots that can outpace Usain Bolt;
Democratized superintelligence is coming: The world needs to get ready
What happens when AI agents can reason through problems well enough to complete real work on their own? This episode of The McKinsey Podcast offers answers to that question and more from OpenAI’s chair Bret Taylor, who is also cofounder of Sierra—which helps some of the world’s biggest companies build sophisticated AI agents, including about 40 percent of the
Why transformations stall—and where only CEOs make the difference
The toughest transformation problems aren’t always strategic or operational. They’re human: the instinct to play it safe, protect what’s ours, trust who we know, and wait for change to pass. Individually, these behaviors can seem perfectly rational. Collectively, they can bring a transformation to a standstill. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Kurt
Is progress behind us, or is ‘plenty’ still possible?
Over the past 100 years, humanity has made stunning advances: longer lives, higher incomes, and billions of people lifted out of poverty. Much of that progress remains uneven and incomplete, however. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we share an adapted conversation from the McKinsey Global Institute’s (MGI) podcast A Century of Plenty, which draws on insights from the institute&rsquo
Made in America, again? Rethinking US manufacturing resilience
Geopolitical fragmentation, the rise of AI, and growing concern about supply chain resilience are putting US manufacturing back in the spotlight. But strengthening America’s industrial base isn’t simply a matter of bringing factories home. The US imports roughly $3 trillion in manufactured goods each year, and some of its most critical supply chains would require a dramatic expansion o
Consumers don’t trust AI advice. They turn to it anyway.
Shoppers are awash in product recommendations. But do they trust them? “We found significant skepticism around algorithm-driven channels like social media, and in particular generative AI, where the trust level is below 40 percent,” says Danielle Bozarth, global leader of McKinsey’s Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods Practices. In this episode of McKinsey Podcast, Bozarth
Earning and sustaining trust in the age of AI
As artificial intelligence reshapes what investors expect from their advisors, asset managers are being pressed to move faster without eroding the trust that took decades to build. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner and North America chair Eric Kutcher, speaks with Andrew Schlossberg, president and CEO of Invesco, about navigating market volatility, putting AI directl
How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics
Window or aisle? These days, if you’re at the front of the plane, you don’t have to choose: “Everything is about having direct aisle access from every seat,” says Steve Saxon, coleader of McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice. And that’s just one of the many ways airlines are reinventing the premium experience for a burgeoning customer segme
Are you settling for a “B+" life?
Do you feel stuck in the career you have? Suzy Welch, an NYU professor and author of Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career (HarperCollins Publishers, May 2025), has your back. In today’s episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Welch explains that if your career doesn’t feel quite right, it m
The new advantage in the age of AI: Building in the real world
The next era of value creation may be defined less by digital innovation alone and more by the ability to build, operate, and scale physical assets. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, co-CEO of Hines Laura Hines-Pierce joins McKinsey’s North American Chair Eric Kutcher to discuss a widening gap between digital ambition and physical capacity. From a global housing shortage to an e
The human advantage in an AI economy
Could AI transformation be exhausting humans rather than optimizing their performance? As artificial intelligence transforms how we work, organizations face a new challenge: ensuring people have the brain health and skills to cope with the cognitive demands of technology. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Partners and Kana Enomoto, and McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) Senior Fe
What the 2026 World Cup reveals about the next generation of sports fans
As sports become an even bigger engine of economic growth, the defining challenge isn’t identifying tomorrow’s fans; it’s recognizing that many of them are already filling stadiums, attending World Cup watch parties, and participating in digital communities. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Lucy Pérez joins Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro
The real AI advantage
The first wave of AI adoption has been all about efficiency gains. But what happens when everyone else, using the same tools, is experiencing the same productivity improvements? Where will competitive advantage come from then? McKinsey research suggests that the companies that outperform with AI will be those that rethink customer experiences, redesign how work gets done, and build operating model
The serial builder advantage: Why repeat innovators win
In an era of economic uncertainty and accelerating technological disruption, creating new businesses has become less of a growth option and more of a strategic imperative. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Jason Bello speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about McKinsey’s new research on corporate venture building. They examine why serial builders outpe
What it takes to become—and remain—an effective CEO
Long before someone takes the corner office, they need to build the skills and rapport that will help them thrive once they move in. That CEO journey is the focus of this episode of The McKinsey Podcast with McKinsey Partner Blair Epstein, Senior Partner Carolyn Dewar, Partner Julia McClatchy, and Senior Partner Vik Malhotra. They share their collective insights
AI is turning every company into a software company
As AI capabilities accelerate, nearly anyone can create software. The real business constraint is no longer code, but judgment: how quickly an organization can learn, adapt, and redeploy talent at scale. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy joins McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher to dig into how AI is industrializing intelligence, supercharging p
The world is changing. Can fashion keep up?
Affordable luxury: It may sound like an oxymoron, but in an uncertain economy, it’s striking a chord with cautious consumers looking for value—and expecting more from the brands they buy. “Brands are actively thinking about the fact that people are shifting their spending,” according to McKinsey Senior Partner Gemma D’Auria. “If they want to stay relevant, they
How CEOs can navigate the new era of trade
Tariff tumult. Shifting geopolitical alliances. AI acceleration. Structural shifts are reshaping global trade. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Shubham Singhal and McKinsey Partner Jeongmin Seong speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how to adapt to the current phase of global trade reconfiguration—from where to manufacture to supply chain d
Move first or fall behind: How AI is rewriting the rules of banking
McKinsey’s latest research on global banking demonstrates that artificial intelligence isn’t just another efficiency play for financial institutions; it represents a fundamental shift in how these companies manage costs, attract and retain customers, and stay ahead of the competition. In this episode, Ido Segev, McKinsey senior partner and Roberta Fusaro, editorial director talk about
The next era of healthcare is personal
For more than a century, medicine has largely followed a one-size-fits-all model—but that paradigm is beginning to break. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, joins Eric Kutcher, McKinsey’s North America chair, to explore how mRNA technology is transforming healthcare. From the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines to new approaches to rare
Sell, close, or continue? The transfer of US businesses is at a crossroads
A historic wave of ownership transitions is set to reshape the backbone of the US economy. The fate of jobs, local spending, and wealth creation all hinge on whether enough qualified—and diverse—buyers can step in to continue to pave the way for small business ownership. In this episode, Shelley Stewart III, McKinsey senior partner and Roberta Fusaro, editorial director, talk about the
Rewiring for AI: From ambition to advantage
As generative and agentic AI reshape how work gets done, the real divide isn’t who has the best ideas—it’s who can turn them into real results at speed and scale. In this webinar, McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly speaks with Senior Partners Kate Smaje and Robert Levin about the updated Rewired playbook—and why winning with
The rise of the human–AI workforce
Most leaders herald the promise of AI, but many employees see it as a looming threat—a modern echo of Annie Oakley’s classic lines: “Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you.” What does it take, then, to lead constructive partnerships between humans and AI agents at work? In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis
What great leaders know about not knowing it all
People often expect their leaders to have all the answers; David Novak built his career by challenging that assumption. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the former CEO and cofounder of Yum! Brands and current chair of Versant speaks with Eric Kutcher, McKinsey’s chair of North America, about the experiences that shaped his leadership—from engaging with front-line franchisees to
Follow the money: How FDI is redrawing the global economy
Foreign direct investment (FDI) used to sit in the background—important, but distant from day-to-day strategy. That’s no longer true. Today, massive capital commitments into areas like AI, semiconductors, and clean energy are signaling which industries will scale, where supply chains will land, and which regions will dominate. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Pa
Can the US sustain its competitive edge?
The US has had a phenomenal run of success: at 250 years old, it’s home to the world’s most competitive economy, accounting for more than a quarter of global GDP and more than half of the world’s top 100 companies. But America also confronts a raft of new challenges—mounting national debt, eroding infrastructure, slipping test scores, persistent income disparity, and more&m
AI is everywhere. The agentic organization isn’t—yet
Yes, AI is astonishing: fast, powerful, and learning every day. But even as leaders strike up new pilots across their organizations, most still struggle to translate experimentation into enterprise value—and now, agentic AI is raising the stakes. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what i
Leadership lessons from private equity CEOs
Companies backed by private equity (PE) tend to transform faster and more often than public or family-owned firms do, leading to consistently outperforming their peers. Marla Capozzi and Sacha Ghai, McKinsey leaders, researched nearly 300 CEOs across PE and private-capital companies to define their tactics and share their best practices with others. They and their coauthors published the findings
Trust in the age of agents
Many leaders can get agentic pilots rolling—but realizing ROI can mean activating thousands of AI agents enterprise-wide. Is your organization ready? “Agency isn’t a feature—it’s a transfer of decision rights,” says McKinsey Partner Rich Isenberg. “The question shifts from ‘Is the model accurate?’ to ‘Who’s accountable when the syst
What does it take to achieve and sustain growth?
McKinsey research has found that while many leaders believe they’ve adopted and implemented productive mindsets for growth, those attitudes and ambitions don’t always translate into the behaviors and actions necessary to achieve their growth objectives. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro speaks with McKinsey Senior Partners Greg Kelly and Jill Zu
A new way of thinking about metabolic health
On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Lars Hartenstein, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute, and Roberta Fusaro, an editorial director at McKinsey, discuss the findings from McKinsey’s recent research on obesity and metabolic health—specifically, the potential interventions for sparking a metabolic health revolution, the economic impact of improving outcomes, and the tech
Special episode: 2026 Davos highlights
This is a special episode of The McKinsey Podcast covering last week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. McKinsey Senior Partners Becca Coggins and Shelley Stewart III speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what was top of mind for CEOs—from geopolitics to leading through the AI moment to the faster-than-expected arrival of humanoid robots at scale. Theme
How the best CEOs are meeting the AI moment
AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? “This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we’ve seen—but it’s 80 percent business transformation and 20 percent tech,” according to McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “That’s different from how most people have thought about it.” On this
Special episode: McKinsey at CES 2026
McKinsey’s Bill Wiseman, Bob Sternfels, Martin Kellner, and Steffen Fuchs were on the ground at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In this special episode of The McKinsey Podcast, they tell us about the tools and themes that most resonated with them—breakthrough AI applications, advances in mobility, and more. Theme music compos
The future of work is agentic
Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents. That’s not science fiction; it’s happening. And it’s happening relatively quickly, according to McKinsey Senior Partner Jorge Amar. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, originally broadcast on McKinsey Talks Ta
Don’t get stuck in a rut—update how you operate
People are asked to update the operating systems on their phones all the time. What if leaders applied that same kind of polishing and bug fixing to themselves? McKinsey research shows that executives who periodically review and revise their priorities, roles, time, and energy tend to be more productive, work more consciously, and drive change more effectively. In this episode of The McKinsey Podc
What's next for global banking?
Banking has had a couple of very good years—the best, in fact, since the global financial crisis of 2007–09. Yet to some, the industry’s outlook seems less buoyant than recent profitability might suggest. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners Klaus Dallerup and Pradip Patiath speak with McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about McKins
Quantum computing: Game on
Quantum computing has long been technology’s white whale. But in recent months, new developments suggest practical applications for this elusive technology could finally be within reach. “Quantum has been five to ten years away from fruition for many, many decades,” says McKinsey Partner Michael Bogobowicz. “Now it feels three to five years away.” In this episode of T
The fashion industry faces a world in flux
One thing is clear for the fashion industry in 2025. Due to climate change, global trade uncertainties, and consumers focused on value, growth is expected to be slow. However, despite the negative environment, McKinsey Senior Partner, Gemma D’Auria says there are opportunities to mine. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, she speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about our
The industries reshaping our global economy
“A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all involved.” That’s McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley. On the latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Chris spoke with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about a new report delving into the next arenas of competit
Data centers: The race to power AI
Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers—and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey’s Jesse Noffsinger and Pankaj Sachdeva speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what needs to happen to build new, bigger data centers quickly, as well as to sate their growi
Gen AI is here—but where are its users?
Gen AI is evolving fast—but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we feature an episode of our technology podcast, At the Edge. Tech visionaries Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield Fund; Kiran Prasad, McKinsey senior adviser and CEO and cofounder of Big Basin Labs; and Naba Banerjee, McKinsey senior adviser and former directo
Which tech trends are rising to the top of the business agenda?
Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other technologies into their everyday business processes. McKinsey’s annual outlook on technology trends points to 13 “frontier” trends that can help companies get a handle on these and other challenges. On this episode of The McKinsey P
Building leaders from the ground up
CEOs are confronting double the number of critical issues today compared with ten years ago. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners Daniel Pacthod and Kurt Strovink, along with McKinsey Senior Advisor Wyman Howard, join McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss the characteristics today’s business leaders need to handle greater and more frequent waves o
Rewinding 2025: A year of The McKinsey Podcast insights—in under 10 minutes
This year on The McKinsey Podcast, we’ve dived into an array of topics on leadership, organizational change, and technological innovation, talking to McKinsey’s most seasoned experts about how to lead during times of geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty, as well as how to harness and then radiate the advances made possible by AI. We didn’t just go for the broad strokes.
How agentic AI could transform travel
Yes, dreaming up your next getaway can be exhilarating. But booking it? Often less so. For many customers, the thrill of travel risks getting lost in logistics, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jules Seeley. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, he joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on the rise of AI in the travel industry, including the advent of AI agents that c
Productivity first: AI and the COO agenda
From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Daniel Swan speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about how COOs can embed technology, particularly AI, into their company’s culture. It requires balancing the urge
A more accurate way to measure consumer engagement
Not all consumer attention is created equal—that’s a critical lesson from McKinsey’s recent report on content creation and monetization. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Kabir Ahuja speaks with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about something called the “attention equation” and how media players can use it to get a better return on the
Remanufacturing: Turning old parts into new opportunities
What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is transforming automotives, electronics, and other industries. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Inga Maurer and Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro explore how this practice reduces waste while creating more value for companies. Arti
What sets the world’s best leaders apart
Most leaders set out to be the best—but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do differently? McKinsey Senior Partners Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra break it down in their new book A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, October 2025), based on res
The promise and potential of rural America
There is no single definition of “rural America.” It comprises agricultural hubs, manufacturing centers, and fast-growing regions—each a regional archetypes with its own distinct challenges and opportunities. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Nora Gardner joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss these archetypes and new research that can help
The changing role of the CMO—and what it means for growth
Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to the detriment of both customers and growth. “Kelsey and I are on a singular mission to bring CMOs back,” McKinsey Senior Partner Shelley Stewart III said recently, referring to Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson. In this episode of The
A conversation about valuation
Don’t lose sight of the long term. It’s a core message from the eighth edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, McKinsey’s seminal guide for corporate-finance professionals. It also describes the unique investment approach of the legendary investor Warren Buffett, who will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. In this episode of Th
What the latest trends in sporting goods mean for brands
Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot. Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more pronounced, according to McKinsey Partner Alexander Thiel. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Alexander joins Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to discuss this year’s whipsawing consumer t
Tariffs and trade: Preparing for the unpredictable
As geopolitical tensions persist, global trade dynamics are becoming increasingly complex—and many leaders find themselves on tenterhooks. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal, two global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work, join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how to move forward amid rapidly reconfiguring trade relationships&
Confronting the affordable-housing crisis
The US housing crunch is bad—and it’s getting worse. Wider access to safe, affordable homes is vital to enabling economic mobility for all Americans—and to harnessing what McKinsey Partner JP Julien, a leader of the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, calls a “massive” untapped economic opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, JP joins Global Editor
Time to revisit your M&A strategy
M&A activity is down, as is private equity investment, and companies are facing a range of new geopolitical tensions. Still, there is a path to growth through M&A for those companies that maintain an active acquisition strategy, understand their capabilities, and avoid certain assets, says McKinsey Senior Partner Jake Henry. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, he and McKinsey Senior P
When the career ladder breaks for women—and how to succeed anyway
Career advancement is tough for everyone—but for women, it can feel particularly elusive. There’s a reason for that, according to the new book The Broken Rung: for every 100 men promoted early in their careers, only 81 women experience that same opportunity. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, the book’s authors, McKinsey Senior Partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and M
McKinsey’s highlights from Mobile World Congress
Companies are getting practical about how to create value from gen AI – while 5G, satellites, and innovations in phone design also take center stage. This is a special, bonus episode of The McKinsey Podcast. McKinsey Partner Ferry Grijpink joined McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to share some immediate takeaways from the annual Mobile World Congress ev
Special episode: Debriefing Davos 2025
The World Economic Forum was buzzing as leaders confront a world in flux. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Daniel Pacthod, Rodney Zemmel, and Tracy Francis talk with McKinsey global editorial director, Lucia Rahilly, about what happened in Davos last week (originally recorded for our webinar series, McKinsey Live). Key themes on the mountaintop were: AI t
Navigating the new geopolitical uncertainty
Yes, the changing geopolitical reality presents new risks—but like all disruptions, it may also create new opportunities. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal, global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work, speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about how leaders can orient themselves within this evolving geopolitical landscape and,
Replaying a full year of The McKinsey Podcast—in just ten minutes
Technology, talent, decarbonization—we explored these and many other topics this year on The McKinsey Podcast. A range of McKinsey partners joined us on the mic and offered their perspectives on the pivots that global business leaders have made to compete more effectively. On this episode, we revisit a few those discussions and offer quick takes from McKinsey partners on
What will it take for working women to rise?
Ten years of research on women in the workplace, conducted by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.Org, reveals what’s better, what’s worse, and what all of us can do now to help more women advance—more quickly—at work. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Alexis Krivkovich and Lareina Yee speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly
Special episode: Climate adaptation is one key theme at COP 29
This is a special, bonus episode of The McKinsey Podcast. McKinsey partner Alexis Trittipo joins us from the UN climate change conference (aka COP 29) in Baku to share what she’s hearing about climate adaptation.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç on reinventing Rolls-Royce
Since Tufan Erginbilgiç took the helm of the iconic brand, its share price has surged. Profits have more than doubled. How he did it is a case study in the art of corporate transformation. In conversation with McKinsey senior partner Michael Birshan.See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information
How the top UK companies have set themselves up for success
If you have an ambition but no plan behind it, you’re probably not going to get the results you’re looking for. According to recent McKinsey research on the UK economy, the highest-performing UK companies have grounded their ambitions in a set of five conditions—looking at investors, incentives, sources of growth, partnerships, and people. And the results speak for themselves. On today’s episode o
Rewiring for the era of gen AI
It’s easy to fall in love with gen AI—but recent research suggests that realizing its value is harder than the hype. Rewired offers a playbook that can help. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Rodney and fellow senior partners and co-authors Eric Lamarre and Kate Smaje join global editorial director Lucia Rahilly to talk about their book Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age
A net zero reality check
Optimists, pessimists—who’s right? On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner Humayun Tai, partner Mekala Krishnan and global editorial director Lucia Rahilly discuss new research that takes stock of the physical realities shaping our trajectory toward net zero, as well as what needs to happen to address these challenges—and hasten progress—successfully. In our second segment
Leading from the inside-out: Why CEOs must make time for self-reflection
The greatest CEOs are necessarily driven, decisive, and confident. But McKinsey senior partner Ramesh Srinivasan, senior partner emeritus Hans-Werner Kaas, and coauthors of their new book, The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Can Learn to Lead from the Inside Out, say CEOs must weave in a layer of soft skills like self-awareness, humility, and compassion to inspire their workforce. On this episode
A look at the technology trends that matter most
Innovation and interest in the tech sector remain strong, despite market challenges and dips in investment. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey technology experts Lareina Yee and Roger Roberts share findings from the McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2024 report. They talk with editorial director Roberta Fusaro about where innovation is exploding, interest is deepening, and investme
Will generative AI hurt middle managers—or help them?
Bogged down, bothered, beleaguered: Many middle managers have it bad—and they can also have a bad rap. In Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2023), McKinsey talent experts Bryan Hancock and Emily Field sought to correct that misperception, clarifying the vital role the best middle managers play in competitive outperformance.
The key to accelerating AI development? Pragmatism plus imagination
While AI continues to influence the way we work in exciting new ways, it is crucial for organizations to apply guardrails to keep it safe. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Alexander Sukharevsky and Lareina Yee dig into McKinsey’s latest report, with editorial director Roberta Fusaro. In our second segment, how do you muster the courage to speak up at work? Senior p
Think you know what consumers want? Think again.
Consumers say they want experiences over goods. As always, they are looking to get the most value for their dollar. Even when it comes to sustainably produced products and services, the price must be right. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner Sajal Kohli speaks with editorial director Roberta Fusaro and outlines recent research on today’s consumer: who they are, what t
Gen AI and beyond: Where else to focus now
Gen AI has rightly seized leaders’ attention. But is it also eclipsing lower-profile digital imperatives? On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Rodney Zemmel and Kate Smaje, with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, talk about ideas leaders risk overlooking with gen AI in the spotlight, and how to ensure your digital initiatives—including gen AI—work in tandem to dr
The ups and downs of global productivity
Labor productivity over the past 25 years has been a success story for some, a tale of stagnation for others. Investments and digital transformation can boost productivity for all economies. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Chris Bradley and Olivia White join editorial director Roberta Fusaro to discuss how best to measure productivity, what’s behind curbed product
A new itinerary for the tourism industry
McKinsey spoke with more than 5,000 travelers across geographies and generations as part of a recently published survey that reveals clear differences in behaviors, motivations, and expectations among a diverse set of tourists. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey’s Margaux Constantin and Jasperina de Vries speak with editorial director Roberta Fusaro about data that can help travel a
The case for space
The universe isn’t the only thing expanding. Governments have invested in space technology for decades, and now business is accelerating its growth. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partner Ryan Brukardt speaks with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about the global space economy, where innovation in space-based technology is generating a range of public- and private-
What’s new in consumer wellness trends?
Pass the probiotics and the clinically effective products over the “clean and natural” ones: McKinsey’s latest research on the future of wellness provides a snapshot of how consumers worldwide, across all geographies and generations, are approaching their health and wellness and the types of interventions they are prioritizing. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey partner Anna Pione j
Gen AI talent: Your next flight risk
Active users of generative AI are high value and in demand—and in many cases, poised to quit. New research reveals how to attract them, keep them engaged, and motivate them to stay put. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey talent leaders Aaron De Smet and Brooke Weddle talk to global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about what these workers want most, as well as practical steps leader
