Asia’s reckoning: How to position your company for success in the 21st century

Asia’s business world is facing a reckoning. The ongoing effects of the pandemic, climate change, inflation, and geopolitical tensions have reshaped the corporate landscape, pushing leaders and companies to reimagine what it’ll take to succeed in 21st century Asia.

Many uncertainties remain, but opportunities for revival across industries and sectors are being brought to the fore. The businesses that can embrace this moment to rebuild and future-proof their organizations stand to reap the rewards.

In our new curated collection, Reckoning, revival, rebuilding, we bring you our latest insights on how organizations can position themselves for success in the years to come. We explore the business imperative for sustainable, inclusive growth, and what it’ll take for companies to confidently navigate towards the next frontier.

Featured Insight

Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

Global flows: The ties that bind in an interconnected world
– Economic and political turbulence have prompted speculation that the world is already deglobalizing. But the evidence suggests that global integration is here to stay, albeit with nuance.
Report

Toward a sustainable, inclusive, growing future: The role of business
– To make the world as sustainable and inclusive as we hope, a certain kind of economic growth will be necessary—and companies will play a vital role in generating it.

Hear from our experts

Video

Bracing for headwinds: How banks can navigate disruption
– Senior partner Joydeep Sengupta discusses how banks can navigate headwinds and capture opportunities in the next 12 to 18 months.
Video

Capturing opportunities in an interconnected world
– McKinsey Global Institute partner Jeongmin Seong tells us more about how businesses can leverage global networks and flows to... capture opportunities for innovation and growth.
Video

How companies can build institutional and individual resilience
– Our Asia chairman, Gautam Kumra, discusses how companies can emerge stronger from current economic conditions through building... institutional and individual resilience.
Video

How consumer companies can embrace change amid volatility
– Senior partner Dymfke Kuijpers shares more on being a business ‘triathlete’, and how consumer companies can embrace... three mindsets to navigate current economic headwinds.
Video

Navigating volatility: Six trends businesses should look out for
– Senior partner Tracy Francis identifies six moves businesses—particularly consumer companies—can make to build resilience... in the face of tough economic circumstances.
Video

Placing a premium on resilience: How businesses can thrive through volatility
– Senior partner Oliver Tonby shares four ways Asian businesses can anticipate and weather oncoming economic storms to emerge stronger

Click to see different themes

Reckoning | Revival | Rebuilding

Reckoning

Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

On the cusp of a new era?
– Current economic and political turbulence could presage the start of a new era that is structurally very different with a new... narrative of progress.
Article

The COVID-19 challenge to gender equality
– At a meeting of the W20 working group, part of this year’s G20 summit in Indonesia, McKinsey’s Mekala Krishnan discussed... the impact of COVID-19 on women.
Article

How Asian business leaders can prepare for a volatile future
– During the pandemic, many Asian companies reinvented the way they operated. Those who embrace this moment to strengthen their... resilience could position their companies to succeed.
Collection

Leading Asia: An interview series with the region’s top business leaders
In our new video series, we ask some of the most influential voices in the region how they are navigating this increasingly complex... landscape.
Article

Employee mental health and burnout in Asia: A time to act
– By identifying factors affecting workplace mental health, leaders in Asia can take action to create happier, more inclusive, and... increasingly productive organizations.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The Great Attrition is making hiring harder. Are you searching the right talent pools?
– People keep quitting at record levels, yet companies are still trying to attract and retain them the same old ways. New research... identifies five types of workers that employers can reach to fill jobs.

Revival

Article

Green Growth: Capturing Asia’s $5 trillion green business opportunity
– Asia is a critical contributor to the global race to net zero. Proactive moves in pursuit of this goal could result in opportunities... that will define tomorrow’s outcomes and successful business leaders.
Report

Imagining your customers’ possible futures: A Design x Foresight approach
– In fast-growing and diversifying Asian consumer markets, many possible futures lie ahead, but how can businesses anticipate them... and future proof their organizations? Strategic foresight and futures design are useful tools.
Article

Five windows of opportunity for postpandemic Asia
– Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused hardship, Asia has remained relatively resilient, and opportunities for growth are opening... up.
Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

How Asia can boost growth through technological leapfrogging
– Asia has experienced a significant technological transformation over the past decade, and there is more to come if the region... addresses remaining gaps in core capabilities.
Podcast

Parity in a pandemic: An Asia perspective
– Inclusion and diversity is critical for business recovery, resilience, and reimagination—and businesses need it more than... ever in a postpandemic world.
Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

The future of Asia: Decoding the value and performance of corporate Asia
– Corporations in Asia have grown in scale but lag behind the global average on profits, and the COVID-19 crisis poses new challenges.

Rebuilding

Collection

Thriving through volatility
Business in Asia has proven resilient during challenging economic times. Hear from global experts on what it takes to not only... navigate global headwinds, but also thrive in an increasingly volatile landscape.
Video

Sustainable and inclusive growth: A new paradigm for Asia
– Can growth be sustainable and inclusive? Leaders share their perspectives on how Asian businesses can make this a reality.
Article

Building 21st century companies in Asia
– Asia’s corporate landscape is changing rapidly and the role and priorities of CEOs may need to evolve.
Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

Beyond income: Redrawing Asia’s consumer map
– Asia’s consumer markets are not only growing rapidly but diversifying and segmenting. Three changes in perspective are key... to understanding new consumption paths in the region.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Climate risk and response in Asia
– In many ways, Asia is on the frontline of a changing climate. We analyze the extent of climate risk facing the region and effective... responses for adaptation and mitigation.
Discussion Paper - McKinsey Global Institute

The future of Asia: Asian flows and networks are defining the next phase of globalization
– The Asian Century has begun. Asia is the world’s largest regional economy and, as its economies integrate further, it has... the potential to fuel and shape the next phase of globalization.