The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
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 their investments. It’s about quality of focus, Ahuja reminds us, not just quantity of eyeballs. Articles Mentioned: The FDI shake-...
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. Articles Mentioned: One year of agentic AI: Six lessons from the people doing the work The infrastructure moment Theme music co...
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 research and interviews with executives ranking among the top 200 CEOs across the globe. On this episode of The McKin...
Rural America is a heterogeneous landscape with significant economic potential, comprising six distinct community archetypes. Beyond traditional agriculture, advanced manufacturing, fueled by over $1 trillion in investments, presents major opportunities for growth and high-paying jobs, particularly near rural communities. The episode emphasizes the crucial role of K-12 education in preparing students with necessary skills, advocating for strong industry partnerships to drive economic mobility and community revitalization. Such collaborations are key to harnessing rural America's strengths and ensuring a prosperous future.
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 McKinsey Podcast , Shelley and Kelsey join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss new research on worsening di...
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 The McKinsey Podcast , we hear an excerpt from our Author Talks series featuring Valuation coauthor and McKinsey Partne...
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 trends, as well as what sporting goods leaders can do to harness them to combat slowing growth. Articles/pieces mentioned: Can Bloomingdale’s b...
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—regardless of the way current tariff talks play out. This conversation has been adapted from our McKinsey Liv...
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 Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss what’s causing the crisis in affordable housing , who’s most affected, and what both publ...
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 Partner Mieke Van Oostende join McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro to discuss findings from...
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 Run g : 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 María del Mar Martínez , join McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss the challenges that can ...
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 event in Barcelona. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy informati...
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 transformation , resilience and geopolitics , EU competitiveness , the energy transition , and women’s health...
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, in particular, begin to move beyond mitigating risk to finding and mobilizing on new opportunities. Articles ment...
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 has mattered most to CEOs and other C-suite leaders over the past 12 months. Also, McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Elli...
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 about where women’s experiences have improved, stalled, and even worsened over the past ten years, as well as about how to final...
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
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
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 of The McKinsey Podcast , senior partners Andrew Goodman and Tunde Olanrewaju speak with editorial di...
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 of Digital and AI (Wiley, 2023)—which, a year and a gen AI disruption post publication, continues ...
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, we hear about how to improve the CEO–board relationship with senior partner Celia Huber, from our...
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 of The McKinsey Podcast , Srinivasan and Kaas speak with editorial director Roberta Fusaro about t...
I nnovation 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 investment is flowing. In our second segment, from our CEO Insights series , McKinsey partner Blair Epstei...
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. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , originally aired on McKinsey Talks Talent , the authors rev...
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 partner Sherina Ebrahim has two tips. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information...
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 they’re buying, and where they purchase - plus the influence of the East. In our second segment, fr...
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 drive meaningful value. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information...
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 productivity numbers, and what can be done to ramp up productivity rates again. In our second segment, McK...
McKinsey spoke with more than 5,000 travelers across geographies and generations as part of a recently published survey t hat 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 and tourism companies tailor their offerings and realize more bookings, higher satisfaction, and, ul...
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-sector opportunities that could reach $1.8 trillion by 2035 [1] —as well as the imperative to shape...
