Author Talks: A transformational approach to leadership

In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Raju Narisetti speaks with McKinsey senior partners Dana Maor, Kurt Strovink, and Ramesh Srinivasan and senior partner emeritus Hans-Werner Kaas about their new book, The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out (Portfolio/Penguin Group, USA, September 2024).…

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Building an engineering culture and resilient technology

The pace of change in technology has created many opportunities—and raised as many challenges. Overcoming the challenges to grasp the opportunities requires tools and processes that nurture an engineering culture, build stable foundations for resilient technology operations, and manage complex cloud costs. Driving this shift requires modern technology leaders to…

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Gen AI’s next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation

After nearly two years of debate, the verdict is in: generative AI (gen AI) is here to stay, and its business potential is massive. We’ve already witnessed an exponential rate of gen-AI-related innovation, which promises to accelerate automation and enhance productivity, innovation, and the quality of work, as well as…

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The loneliest job? How top CEOs manage dilemmas and vulnerability

For many leaders, assuming the role of CEO is a key career goal and the culmination of decades of hard work. The CEO role is also among the most challenging and demanding positions in any organization—particularly during times of uncertainty and upheaval.About 100 CEOs have passed through the McKinsey Center…

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Managing uncertainty in the silicon carbide wafer market

Over the past few years, silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as an attractive alternative to silicon as a semiconductor base material because it offers improved performance, most notably realized in applications requiring high power. Although various industrial devices now incorporate SiC, the majority of emerging demand will come from applications…

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Start spreading the news: New York City travel and tourism are back

As the travel industry began to recover in 2021, we expressed our view that the enduring allure of New York would continue to draw visitors back to the city. That projection is well on track, as more than 62 million people visited New York City in 2023, representing 93 percent of…

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LLM to ROI: How to scale gen AI in retail

Once generative AI (gen AI) hit the mainstream, in late 2022, it took little time for retail executives to realize the potential in front of them. Mentions of artificial intelligence (AI) in retailers’ earnings calls soared last year—which was no surprise, given that gen AI is poised to unlock between…

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How European consumers perceive electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer a niche business. They now account for 16 percent of new-car sales in Europe, up from under 1 percent in 2019. Despite the removal of purchase subsidies in certain markets, such as Germany at the end of 2023, sales have remained stable. Since the…

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A clear-eyed view of gen AI for the private equity industry

In this episode of Deal Volume, McKinsey’s podcast on private markets, McKinsey partner and host Brian Vickery speaks with senior partner Ben Ellencweig. Ben leads alliances and partnerships for QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and spends much of his time working with private equity (PE) firms and their portfolio companies. In this…

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Healthy organizations keep winning, but the rules are changing fast

Organizational health is a moving target. Leaders at today’s healthiest organizations don’t run them the same way that the C-suite did in 2003, when McKinsey launched the Organizational Health Index (OHI).We created the index to help organizations gain vital insights into whether they have the right practices in place to…

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Reimagining labor to close the expanding US semiconductor talent gap

As McKinsey has written previously, public and private investments to rapidly expand the United States semiconductor industry will total more than $250 billion by 2032. This investment brings with it more than 160,000 new job openings in engineering and technician support alongside additional openings in related construction craft jobs, according…

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Five differentiators of outperforming family-owned businesses in India

The central role that family plays in the lives of Indians cannot be overemphasized. This is just as true in business. In India, family-owned businesses (FOBs) contribute more than 75 percent of national GDP, one of the highest percentages in the world, and this is likely to rise to 80…

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The Iberian green industrial opportunity: Biomethane

The European Union (EU) has set ambitious decarbonization goals for all member states: at least a 55 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and at least a 42.5 percent—although aiming for 45 percent—share of renewable energy consumption based on the Renewable Energy Directive…

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Opportunity@Work: Addressing the opportunity gap and improving workforce equity outcomes

In the fifth installment of the McKinsey Action 9 Fireside Chat series, McKinsey partner Darius Bates chats with Byron Auguste, cofounder and CEO of Opportunity@Work, to discuss how the organization is changing the talent marketplace to enable workers, who are skilled through alternative routes (STARs) rather than four-year college degrees,…

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Retailers’ climate road map: Charting paths to decarbonized value chains

As companies in all sectors work to shrink their carbon footprints and hit their decarbonization targets, the path to reducing Scope 3 emissions is often anything but straightforward. For some, decarbonizing Scope 3 emissions can be more like navigating a particularly byzantine maze. Such is the case for retailers. For…

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Greek shipping: Success factors and opportunities

Greece has held a prominent place in shipping for many decades. What makes this more significant is that the country’s considerable role on the international maritime stage is disproportionate to its size. The capacity of the Greek merchant fleet, at more than 5,000 vessels, makes Greece the largest shipowning nation,…

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Wesco CEO John Engel on beating the odds with a merger of equals

John Engel says his tenure as CEO at Wesco International has been bookended by crises. After joining Wesco in 2004 as COO, he stepped into the CEO role in 2009 during the Great Recession. He says the company managed well through that period and has now come through one of…

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Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, June 2024

Has the cycle of monetary easing begun? After the Banco Central do Brasil, the European Central Bank (ECB) has become the second major central bank to cut rates. This might bring some much-needed relief to companies and households and could revive the construction market. But there might be more. As…

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Pulling back from the boundaries: An interview with Johan Rockström

Since Johan Rockström and a team of internationally renowned scientists first proposed the planetary boundaries framework in 2009, it has become a key reference in global sustainability efforts. The framework seeks to track the planet’s ability to support human life and development, and it focuses on nine systems and processes…

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Managing in the era of gen AI

Middle management was already a tough gig. Then generative AI (gen AI) entered the fray. A year after the publication of their book Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2023), McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Emily Field join global…

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Decarbonizing API manufacturing: Unpacking the cost and regulatory requirements

As vital as the life sciences and healthcare ecosystem is to human health, so too is its decarbonization to the health of both humans and the entire planet. Accounting for 4 to 5 percent of total global emissions, this sector is aware of the need to address its environmental footprint…

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Generative AI in healthcare: Adoption trends and what’s next

The transformative power of generative AI (gen AI) will likely reshape the healthcare industry over time, and organizations are beginning to take action. In our Q1 2024 survey, more than 70 percent of respondents from healthcare organizations—including payers, providers, and healthcare services and technology (HST) groups—say that they are pursuing…

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Inside the engine room: Debunking the myths of scaling a new business

Building a business is hard, and doing so in a start-up or scale-up context is even harder. Building a successful start-up is akin to building a rocket ship: the team setting the direction (market and product–market fit), growth engines (go-to-market [GTM] strategy and product), crew (talent and leadership), and capabilities…

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Logistics start-up funding: The investor pullback continues

The decline in post-pandemic logistics funding continues. After reaching an unprecedented $25.6 billion in 2021, venture funding for logistics start-ups fell to just $2.9 billion in 2023—a two-year plunge of nearly 90 percent, and the lowest level of funding since 2015. A number of factors are driving this sharp pullback…

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Why agents are the next frontier of generative AI

Over the past couple of years, the world has marveled at the capabilities and possibilities unleashed by generative AI (gen AI). Foundation models such as large language models (LLMs) can perform impressive feats, extracting insights and generating content across numerous mediums, such as text, audio, images, and video. But the…

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Today’s industrial revolution calls for an organization to match

What is humanity’s greatest innovation of the industrial age—the steam engine? Penicillin? The internet? These are all good candidates, yet without the productivity gains from another crucial innovation, the modern business company, it’s hard to imagine how these inventions could have improved the world at the same scale. The trouble…

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SEKO’s head of ocean freight on the AI future

SEKO launched in 1976 with one office, in Chicago. The logistics, transportation, forwarding, and warehousing firm now boasts 150 locations in more than 60 countries. It serves as a global end-to-end logistics partner for its customers, aiming to turn supply chain strategy into a competitive advantage.Akhil Nair, based in Hong…

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How the aviation industry could help scale sustainable fuel production

Airlines around the world are committing to ambitious decarbonization goals to reach the industry target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Among potential decarbonization measures, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will make the biggest contributions—up to 50 percent of abatement, depending on the airline. Sustainable fuels, which are already certified for use…

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Advanced FP&A practices for a volatile macroeconomic and business environment

It isn’t easy to forecast the next two to three years when macroeconomic conditions and business dynamics are profoundly complex. Yet as technology races ahead—a major (but by no means only) driver of disruption—many companies continue to build models with the same flawed approaches they’ve been using for years. Even…

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Future-proofing operations: How tech and talent go hand in hand

Organizations are grappling with unprecedented workforce challenges, including labor market shortfalls and evolving generational needs. Talent management has become a primary concern for business leaders, with industry experts offering valuable guidance on shaping a future-ready workforce. They examine the impact of technology on operations, the importance of leadership and development…

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Aircraft MRO 2.0: The digital revolution

For airlines around the world, fleet maintenance is increasingly challenging. In the United States, for instance, airlines have endured a 15 percent increase in maintenance costs over the past five years. Meanwhile, there’s been a 14 percent increase in the share of flights delayed. This has raised the pressure on…

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From raw data to real profits: A primer for building a thriving data business

Almost two centuries ago, Lewis Tappan and John M. Bradstreet illustrated the potential for turning data into a profitable product. At the time, businesses and merchants were expanding their operations and needed a reliable way to determine the creditworthiness of potential partners. Bankers and investors were eager for more consistent,…

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Embrace gen AI with eyes wide open

Although the relentless rise of generative AI (gen AI) has many fearing for the loss of their livelihoods to machines, it may actually end up benefiting management and workers alike. Ironically, this most advanced of technologies doesn’t require technical skills to use, and instead puts a premium on very human…

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Overcoming challenges in aerospace procurement

The aerospace industry is pivotal to connecting the world for economic growth and global security. But while other industrial supply chains have recovered from the shocks from the pandemic, aerospace continues to grapple with significant operational challenges: persistent shortages in key commodities, uncertainty of future demand, supply chain consolidation, and…

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How retailers can build and retain a strong frontline workforce in 2024

The job market in the United States may have grown stronger in the past few months, but a closer look at the data suggests retailers face difficulties. As of May 2024, there were about 2.5 million more job vacancies than job seekers. That spells trouble for retail executives, who continue…

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The talent gap: The value at stake for global aerospace and defense

The global aerospace and defense (A&D) sector is booming. The return of air travel to prepandemic levels is one factor behind soaring demand. Another is greater geopolitical instability, which has led to growing national defense spending (in Europe, for example) and rising demand for ammunition. Order volumes across products have…

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McKinsey technology trends outlook 2024

Despite challenging overall market conditions in 2023, continuing investments in frontier technologies promise substantial future growth in enterprise adoption. Generative AI (gen AI) has been a standout trend since 2022, with the extraordinary uptick in interest and investment in this technology unlocking innovative possibilities across interconnected trends such as robotics…

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Net-zero electrical heat: A turning point in feasibility

Electrifying heat production is not just good for the planet; it is also technically feasible and increasingly cost competitive. However, enduring perceptions of industrial heat as “difficult to electrify” have hindered progress toward the decarbonization of heat. Electrification can be an accessible and viable option to decarbonize most low- and…

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Nature stress test: Assessing exposure of five African banking systems

Africa is both heavily dependent on nature and experiencing rapid nature loss. Some 62 percent of African GDP is moderately or highly dependent on the services that nature provides and 70 percent of communities in sub-Saharan Africa depend on forests and woodlands for their livelihoods. In parallel, momentum is building…

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Flexport’s CEO on dealing with canal slowdowns

Founded in 2013, Flexport is a global supply chain technology platform and logistics provider. Flexport describes its technology platform as providing services “from factory floors to customer doors,” helping cargo owners manage and monitor end-to-end shipments via sea, air, rail, and road, with customs brokerage, direct-to-consumer fulfillment, wholesale distribution, and…

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