Inside the Strategy Room

In this episode, we lay out the challenges that soaring inflation presents for business leaders and chart a path forward. We are joined by two authors of a recent McKinsey Quarterly article, ‘Navigating inflation: A new playbook for CEOs’. Ezra Greenberg is a partner in our Stamford, Connecticut office and co-leads our strategic transformation services work in North America. He also leads our work on macro scenarios and trends globally, helping clients understand how these forces impact strategy and investment decisions. Asutosh Padhi is a senior partner in Chicago. He's also the managing partner for McKinsey across North America. Asutosh is part of our global leadership team and serves clients on strategies related to technology, innovation, and operating model redesign. Read Asutosh Padhi and Ezra Greenberg’s article: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/navigating-inflation-a-new-playbook-for-ceos Contact Asutosh: https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/asutosh-padhi Contact Ezra: https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/ezra-greenberg Join our LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-financeSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Singapore-based DBS Bank is known for having transformed itself from a local bank to a global leader. The bank has continued its evolution by focusing on digital transformation and building new digital products. DBS’s group head of strategy and planning is Han Kwee Juan. In this episode, Kwee Juan talks with McKinsey’s Erik Roth, a leader in McKinsey’s innovation work globally, about building a company culture that enables and promotes innovation. Subscribe to The Committed Innovator podcast series:https://link.chtbl.com/Committed_Innovator_ Discover previous Committed Innovator podcast episodes:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/inside-the-strategy-room-podcast/innovationSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Companies have a critical role to play in achieving the global aspiration of net-zero emissions—one that comes with vast business opportunities. In this episode, Michael Birshan, global co-leader of McKinsey’s Strategy and Corporate Finance practice, and Anna Moore, who co-leads the Sustainability Strategy practice in Europe, discuss their recent research on ways organizations can seize the initiative to foster, and benefit from, a net-zero future. Read Anna and Michael’s article:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/playing-offense-to-create-value-in-the-net-zero-transition Join our LinkedIn community: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

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 36:58) >  In this episode, we are joined by Juergen Esser, the chief financial, technology and data officer of multinational food company Danone–the company behind global brands like Evian water and Danone Yogurt. Juergen assumed his current role in February, 2021 after a 20-year career with the French company. He recently spoke with Clarisse Magnin, the managing partner of McKinsey’s Paris office, during a session that was part of an event for global CFOs. The gathering’s focus was on creating value while transitioning to net-zero emissions.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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

Roger Crandall, CEO of MassMutual, a leader who steered the insurer through major digital and structural change. He discusses how disruption is reshaping underwriting, the rise of digital platforms and Haven Technologies, why mutual ownership supports long horizons, and how incumbents use decades of data while startups push rapid innovation.

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