2000s
In 2001, as the business world was reeling from the collapse of the dot-com bubble, the McKinsey Global Institute published its landmark report on what had gone right in the 1990s—more specifically, what had caused US productivity growth to accelerate during those years. “What’s right with the US economy,” a Quarterly summary of that report, introduced C-suite executives to the “Wal-Mart effect”: the statistically demonstrable impact that Wal-Mart’s supply-chain efficiency had on aggregate US productivity performance.
In 2004, the Quarterly began a two-way conversation with its readers by surveying global executives on a wide range of management topics. Over the years, Quarterly surveys have provided valuable insights on the state of the global economy, yielded rich management perspectives on topics such as the organizational implications of Web 2.0 technologies, and supported the development of major pieces of content, such as “The case for behavioral strategy” and “Making time management the organization’s priority.”
The growing prominence of emerging markets on the top-management agenda made them a natural area of focus for the Quarterly. Underscoring the depth of that focus were two special issues—“China today,” in 2004, and “Fulfilling India’s promise,” in 2005. Quarterly articles such as “Getting sourcing right in China” and “What executives are asking about India” provided a road map for CEOs eyeing opportunities. Another 2005 article, “Innovation blowback: Disruptive management practices from Asia,” predicted vigorous competition between emerging-market players and established multinationals.
When the global financial crisis hit, in 2008, the Quarterly responded with a special issue, “The crisis: A new era in management.” McKinsey’s Lowell Bryan and Diana Farrell provided a blueprint for CEOs who were “Leading through uncertainty,” and Richard Rumelt (from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management) described what it would mean to create “Strategy in a ‘structural break’.”
Since 2008, the Quarterly has continued striving to shape the global senior-management agenda. Recent areas of focus have included the growing importance of big data, the future of marketing in a digital world, and the complex challenges facing multinationals as they pursue the “$30 trillion decathlon” in emerging markets.