Inside the Strategy Room

Read more >    Listen to the podcast (duration: 31:54) >  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 model that can withstand an extraordinary level of uncertainty. How can companies adjust their business recovery responses according to the shifting time-frames?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: 29:32) >  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 a senior partner and director of the McKinsey Global Institute. He joined us from his home in the Los Angeles area. Susan Lund is a partner and leads MGI’s research on global financial markets, trade, labor markets, and the macroeconomic outlook. She joined us from her home in Washington, DC. This discussion took place during our 2020 Global Business Leaders Forum, which we held online this year.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: 27:58) >  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.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: 30:21) >  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 the crisis and what are the range of possible scenarios for decision makers to consider?To offer some perspective on these questions we feature a recent conversation between Sven Smit and Francisco Ortega. Sven is a senior partner at McKinsey, based in Amsterdam and is co-chair of the McKinsey Global Institute. He recently co-authored the article “Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods,” which forms the basis of this discussion. Francisco is a senior partner based in our Buenos Aires office and serves as Managing Partner for Spanish Latin America. Sven and Francisco spoke via video conference in mid-April. This is an edited version of their conversation.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: 41:24) >  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 has 30 years of experience in the national security community, including service on the staffs of the United States Senate, White House, and Pentagon. Robert Kehleris a retired United States Air Force general who served as commander of the US Strategic Command and of Air Force Space Command, among other positions. Eric Olsonis a retired United States Navy admiral who headed the US Special Operations Command. He is also the first Navy SEAL to be appointed to three-star and four-star flag rank. Yuval Atsmon—himself a former tank commander—is the author of the new article “Lessons from the generals: Decisive action amid the chaos of crisis.”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: 37:07) >  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 communications director Sean Brown about how to bust common biases by avoiding snap judgements, eliciting strong arguments for and against proposals, carrying out project premortems, and using contingency plans to avoid the so-called sunk-cost fallacy.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: 22:12) >  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 best possible shape.In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Strategy and Corporate Finance communications director Sean Brown talks with three of McKinsey’s corporate finance experts about the top imperatives for CFOs today. Ishaan Seth is the leader of the Strategy and Corporate Finance practice in the Americas and heads McKinsey’s Financial Services practice. Ankur Agrawal leads the CFO Finance service line in North America, working primarily in healthcare, and Kapil Chandra heads up our work in Europe on financial transformation in banking.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: 27:05) >  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 and manage cash and working capital as the business environment starts to stabilize. Kevin Carmody is one of the founders of McKinsey’s Transformation Practice. Tim Koller is a founder and leader of our Corporate Finance Practice, as well as the lead author of Valuation, the seventh edition of which will be published in May. Allie Owens is a consultant who focuses on growth strategy, working capital, and M&A.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: 18:30) >  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 was instead held online. In conversation with Strategy and Corporate Finance communications director Sean Brown, two McKinsey experts offer their perspectives on how businesses can develop business strategies for responding to the pandemic crisis and preparing for the “next normal.” Mihir Mysore is a leader of McKinsey’s work on crisis response and recently co-authored “Responding to coronavirus: The minimum viable nerve center.” Shubham Singhal is the global leader of the healthcare practice who co-wrote “Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal.”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: 23:11) >  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 Office and the global co-leader of the Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice, recently co-authored two articles on the crisis titled “Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods: The imperative of our time” and “Getting ahead of the next stage of the coronavirus crisis.”He opened the Forum with a discussion on COVID-19 and its implications for business and society. Here are the highlights from Martin’s session including his responses to questions he received from Forum attendees.Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information