Top reads of 2022

Our year in charts, year in images, and year in innovation feature a deeper dive into the themes of 2022. Resilience will be essential to navigating continued disruption on the road to sustainable and inclusive growth, and we’ll continue publishing insights on how that plays out in 2023. As this year draws to a close, explore some of 2022’s most popular and innovative insights. Thank you for reading.

2022: The year in charts

Here’s a look back at some of our favorite data visualizations from the year.
See the year in charts

2022: The year in images

Reflecting on the past year sheds light on pivotal moments and forges the path toward a resilient future.
See the year in images

2022: The year in innovation

After two years of pushing beyond the traditional article and toward more engaging, accessible, and interactive forms of storytelling for some of our highest-priority insights, we offer this new year-end wrap-up of our adventures in innovative publishing.
See the year in innovation

TOP TEN LISTS OF MOST POPULAR INSIGHTS

Special Features

McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2022

What matters most? Six priorities for CEOs in turbulent times

Spotting green business opportunities in a surging net-zero world

2022 summer reading guide

McKinsey for Kids: Game on! Why your computer learns faster and games better than you think

My Rookie Moment

Top reports this year

Our top reports of 2022 focused on the issues resonating most across organizations and society, from achieving higher-quality life to developing human capital at work. To explore our robust library of downloadable signature reports and special collections, visit The McKinsey Download Hub.
Report - McKinsey Health Institute

Adding years to life and life to years
– At least six years of higher quality life for everyone is within reach.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Human capital at work: The value of experience
– Human capital represents two-thirds of wealth for the average individual—and work experience contributes almost half of that value.
Report

McKinsey’s Private Markets Annual Review: 2017 to 2022
– Updated annually, our Global Private Markets Review offers the best of our research and insight into private equity, real estate, debt, infrastructure, and natural resources. Explore past years’ reports.
Report

Redesigning the design department
– The best corporate design departments are transforming from fortified castles into vibrant town squares.
Report

Creating value, finding focus: Global Insurance Report 2022
– The insurance industry struggles to create economic profit. But amid COVID-19’s enduring changes, opportunities await.
Report

Sporting goods 2022: The new normal is here
– The sporting-goods industry continues to evolve amid increased health awareness, shifting channel preferences, and rising sustainability concerns. Sporting-goods players need to adapt to five trends shaping the industry in 2022.

New Series & Experiences

McKinsey Explainers
Direct answers to complex questions, backed by McKinsey’s expert insights.

Data Points
How well do you know the numbers behind the changes in business, society, and the world? Take the McKinsey weekly quiz to find out.

POPULAR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS THIS YEAR

Explore a few of our most visited special collections from 2022, which draw together articles, multimedia, and more to deeply engage on many facets of a single topic.

McKinsey on Finance 20th anniversary
Reflections on sustainable, inclusive growth.

Speeding up in a slowing economy
In this collection of articles, McKinsey experts offer our best thinking on how companies can respond and prepare for economic slowdown and uncertainty.

The McKinsey guide to managing yourself—and others
Become better at managing yourself, and others, with insights and advice from leaders around the world who can help improve your professional and personal life.

The Next Normal
What happens when the new normal gets old? And how can companies prepare for what’s ahead? The Next Normal, a new multimedia series, tackles these questions. Business leaders and McKinsey experts offer their perspectives on the future of today’s most dynamic industries.

Building Great CEOs
Explore McKinsey’s CEO counseling offerings, as well as our latest insights and learnings for current and future CEOs to unlock heightened performance.

Mindset to action: Imperatives for Growth
Profitable growth is difficult to achieve and sustain even in the best of times. Nevertheless, some companies succeed, and their experience can teach others.

Popular Videos

Watch some of our most compelling videos of 2022, with topics including sustainable and inclusive growth, the metaverse, the next normal in video entertainment, and more.

Popular Podcasts this year

In 2022, listeners tuned in for insights on leadership, ESG, and more. Explore some of our most streamed podcasts, and check out The McKinsey Podcast for even more audio.

Leadership lessons from the world’s best CEOs
– The authors of the new book CEO Excellence, who interviewed dozens of the top-performing chief executives, share their most memorable encounters and stories.

The role of ESG and purpose
– Answering three questions about purpose and environmental, social, and governance issues can help business leaders zero in on what matters most for their organizations.

What is the metaverse—and what does it mean for business?
– No official definition yet exists for the metaverse, but companies can’t afford to wait until one does or the metaverse fully evolves to start experimenting and investing in it.

The office of the future: A whole new (floor) plan
– Revisiting your talent strategy for a hybrid world? Think hard about the purpose and design of your office space.

The rising risk of a global food crisis
– The war in Ukraine poses a looming threat to the worldwide food supply. Here’s what’s at stake—and what might be done to help.

The state of burnout for women in the workplace
– Women are doing more to support employee well-being but face higher stress levels as a result. Here’s how leaders can help.

McKinsey On Books

CEO Excellence
In this New York Times bestseller, McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra offer an insight-packed, revelatory look at how the best CEOs do their jobs based on extensive interviews with today’s most successful corporate leaders. #CEOExcellenceBook
Order now

Titanium Economy
In this Wall Street Journal bestseller, Asutosh Padhi, Gaurav Batra, and Nick Santhanam reveal the underappreciated and undervalued industrial sector for what it really is: a reliable source of high-paying, domestic jobs and soaring stock prices—a bright spot in an economy that has too often been buffeted by external shocks. #TitaniumEconomyBook
Order now

Deliberate Calm
Jacqueline Brassey, Aaron De Smet, and Michiel Kruyt draw from a unique combination of psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness practices plus a combined 50-plus years of international board room experience to offer a unique approach to learning and leading with awareness and intentional choice, even amid the most challenging circumstances. #DeliberateCalmBook
Order now
Interview

Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest?
– Three McKinsey senior partners looked across more than 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries to identify the mindsets that helped top chief executives deliver extraordinary impact.
Interview

Author Talks: How industrial technology is creating a more inclusive economy
– McKinsey reveals 35 cutting-edge companies in the industrial tech sector, highlighting a robust “titanium economy” that creates American jobs and fuels innovation through sustainable, inclusive growth.
Interview

Author Talks: How to learn and lead calmly through volatile times
– Three McKinsey veterans condense decades of boardroom experience and cognitive science into a guide for learning proactively and leading dynamically amid the most uncertain circumstances.

Inbox Hits

Whether daily, weekly, or monthly, our free newsletter offerings span functional, industry, and news-based topics—have you signed up? Explore some of our most-read newsletters, and subscribe to stay in the loop.

Leading Off
McKinsey’s editors help you get ready to take on the leadership challenges of the coming week, through revealing research, inspiring interviews, and insightful quotations.

Mind the Gap
Curated reads for Gen Z—and their Z-curious colleagues.

Re:think
Our twice monthly Re:think newsletter delivers fresh ideas from our partners in 700 words or less.

On Point
Connecting daily news to what it means for your business.

Daily Read
An article a day, picked by our editors.

Readers & Leaders
From decision making to sustainability, catch the latest page-turners on business and beyond, plus original Q&As with today’s bestselling authors.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

McKinsey Global Publishing would like to thank, first and foremost, the many authors of these articles and other insights for their contributions and analysis.

And we want to acknowledge the many direct contributors who offered vital energy and expertise—under extraordinary personal and professional circumstances—to the development, editing, risk review, copyediting, fact checking, data visualization, design, production, and dissemination of all of McKinsey’s content over the past year.

McKinsey Global Publishing

Leader

Raju Narisetti

Deputy Publisher & Global Editorial Director

Lucia Rahilly

Editors

David Batcheck, Max Berley, Richard Bucci, Hannah Buchdahl, Chuck Burke, Marisa Carder, Christine Chen, Daniel Eisenberg, Roberta Fusaro, Vasudha Gupta, Eileen Hannigan, Heather Hanselman, Bill Javetski, Christopher Kahn, Arshiya Khullar, Katy McLaughlin, Alexandra Mondalek, Cait Murphy, Elizabeth Newman, Benjamin Plotinsky, Rama Ramaswami, Lisa Renaud, Astrid Sandoval, David Schwartz, Daniella Seiler, Andrew Simon, Mark Staples, Seth Stevenson, Stephanie Strom, Rick Tetzeli, Barbara Tierney, Monica Toriello, David Weidner, Patrick White, Gretchen Worth, and Belinda Yu

Audience development & innovation

Nicole Adams, Emily Adeyanju, Michael Allen, Ankush Arora, Matthew Baumer, Mike Borruso, Elana Brown, Andrew Cha, Sean Conrad, Eliza Cooper, Stephanie d’Arc Taylor, Zachary Enco, Torea Frey, Amy Goegan, Matt Jennings, Mehreen Khan, Eleni Kostopoulos, Molly Liebergall, Lucina Martinez, Philip Mathew, Joy Merten, Laurel Moglen, Najah Mushatt, Shahid Naeem, Ron Nurwisah, Kareem Parrot, Mythili Sankara, Brandon Schultz, Shirley Shum, Sarah Skinner, Chandan Srivastava, Andrew Swift, Katherine Tam, Lindsey Taylor, Natalia Tokas, Petra Vincent, Adam Volk, Bifen Xu, Joyce Yoo, and Sam Zachar

Copy desk

Vanessa Burke, Heather Byer, Nancy Cohn, Roger Draper, Drew Holzfeind, Grace Ivey, Julie Macias, LaShon Malone, Pamela Norton, Kanika Punwani, and Sarah Thuerk

Visual storytelling

Vicki Brown, Nayomi Chibana, Victor Cuevas, Richard Johnson, Maya Kaplun, Stephen Landau, Janet Michaud, Matt Perry, Diane Rice, Jonathon Rivait, Amanda Soto, Dan Spector, Amy Swan, Angela Walker, Jessica Wang, and Nathan Wilson

Editorial production & operations

Mark Cajigao, Mary Kate Crowe, Ramya D’Rozario, Christopher Friedmann, Paromita Ghosh, Gwyn Herbein, Milva Mantilla, Katrina Parker, Charmaine Rice, Dana Sand, Katie Shearer, Venetia Simcock, Regina Small, Maegan Smith, Sneha Vats, and Pooja Yadav

Technology & development

Hana Abbas, Yogita Abrol, Farah Abu-Arja, Marianne Blum, Ashlea Blunt, Daniel Bocian, Pablo Corzo, Rafael Daraya, Rohit Garg, Arun Gupta, Anuj Jain, Azam Jameel, Aman Kanoria, Gaurav Kumar, Darshan Mehta, Puneet Mishra, Vilom Oza, Rahul Rawal, Anil Kumar Saini, Jim Santo, and Harsha Suri