Strategy & Corporate Finance Insights

Strategy’s biggest blind spot: Erosion of competitive advantage

Misperceptions about the reach and durability of competitive advantage are hurting many companies’ profits. Five rules can help organizations maximize their edge over peers.
Read article
A glossy blue sphere with magenta highlights made of small cube-like particles gradually forms against a smooth blue gradient background.
Article
Inspired for business growth: How five companies beat the market
-
Just about one in seven companies has outperformed in the past five years. This latest installment of our landmark series for...
A hand uses a stylus to interact with a tablet displaying financial data and charts, including candlestick charts and pie charts. The screen glows with blue and orange hues.
Article
How finance teams are putting AI to work today
-
Real-world examples reveal how finance functions apply AI to deliver faster insights, stronger controls, and measurable results....
A single red sphere breaks away from identical blue spheres, moving on a distinct path. It symbolizes competitive advantage—standing out through differentiation, focus, and strategic direction.
Survey
How top economic performers lean into their competitive advantage to guide their strategy
-
Top economic performers understand their competitive advantage at more granular levels than their peers and use it to derisk...
Triangular prism refracting light beam
Article
The AI reckoning: How boards can evolve
-
How can boards best help guide companies through the competitive dynamics unleashed by AI?
Ed Bastian, sporting a pair of glasses and dressed in a blue suit, light blue shirt, and a purple tie.
Podcast - McKinsey Quarterly
‘Saying “I don’t know” is one of the hardest things a leader can do’: A conversation with Delta CEO Ed Bastian
-
The world’s most valuable airline is 100 years old. The CEO explains what it takes to keep ahead in one of the very toughest...
A stylized, three-dimensional rendering of a human brain. The brain is constructed from numerous small, colorful cubes—primarily blue, white, and gold—connected by thin, white lines on a light blue background.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Bias Busters: The cognitive brakes on the gen AI accelerator
-
Status quo bias and inertia are quiet forces blocking organizations’ progress with gen AI. These moves can overcome them.

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

A CEO For All Seasons book jacket
Book
A CEO For All Seasons
A compact, insight-filled guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery.
#CEO4AllSeasons
Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick
Collection
Beat the odds with a bold business strategy
Learn what it takes to unlock the big moves that really matter for exceptional performance.
Book
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, 8th edition
At the crossroads of corporate strategy and finance lies valuation. This book enables everyone, from the budding professional to the seasoned manager, to excel at measuring and maximizing shareholder and company value.
3D sales chart arrow illustrated as steps leading upward
Valuation Practitioner
Our LinkedIn newsletter created for CFOs and finance professionals seeking to sharpen their valuation toolkit
Subscribe
Man sitting on a unicycle while juggling pins at the beach
The Strategic CEO
Monthly observations to navigate the most challenging role in business by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn...
Subscribe

PODCASTS

Expert voices

Interviews and conversations with our partners on how senior management thinks about strategy and how they confront their most pressing challenges.

Latest topics:

A portrait of a Harmit Singh with short hair and a slight smile, looking directly at the camera. He is wearing a gray button-up shirt and is set against a dark blue textured background.
The CFO as growth leader: A conversation with Levi’s Harmit Singh
-
Levi Strauss & Company’s chief financial and growth officer, Harmit Singh, discusses growth, transformation, and the...
Smiling portrait of Chris Nassetta, Hilton President and CEO
Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta on culture, strategy, and reinvention
-
What he’s learned about leading with a steady hand and staying adaptable for the next “unique moment.”
A portrait of Jane Fraser with short dark hair wearing glasses and a purple blazer over a black top. She stands against a softly blurred, modern interior background and looks directly at the camera with a confident, composed expression.
‘Having a “human” bank is very important’: A conversation with Citi CEO Jane Fraser
-
Citi moves $2 quadrillion a year for 6,000 multinationals. No wonder its CEO has a provocative global perspective.
Subscribe and listen to the series
Read the latest

Special collections

Low angle view of business office buildings
The seasons of the CFO
The CFO role has never been harder. Each phase of a CFO's career requires unique skills. Follow us as we interview former CFOs...
""
McKinsey on Finance 20th anniversary
Reflections on sustainable, inclusive growth.
Cash Excellence
Cash Excellence
This collection of articles and videos explores how to enhance an organization’s performance and resilience through the...
Resilience in TMT: Winning in downturns
Business Resilience
Resilience is the ability of a business to withstand, adapt, and thrive in the face of shocks that are internal and external,...

Want to learn more about how we help clients in Strategy & Corporate Finance?

Learn more

More Insights

Connect with our Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice

Contact