McKinsey Explainers

Social media comprises the applications and websites that allow people to interact with other users, businesses, communities, and content.

In marketing, personalization is when seller organizations use data to tailor messages to specific users’ preferences.

Talent management includes all the ways that organizations bring employees on board, keep them happy and productive, and help them continue to develop their skills over time.

Semiconductors are the unsung heroes of the technology world: parts manufactured from pure elements that work behind the scenes to power and connect everything from smartphones to cars.

Effective meetings are all about purpose, preparation, and presentation.

Quantum computing is a new approach to calculation that uses principles of fundamental physics to solve extremely complex problems very quickly.

Artificial intelligence is a machine’s ability to perform the cognitive functions we usually associate with human minds.

Business transformations are designed to boost overall performance through increased revenue, lower operating costs, and better customer satisfaction and workforce productivity.

Influencer marketing is a collaboration between popular social-media users and brands to promote brands’ products or services.

It’s what organizations do to protect their own and their customers’ data from malicious attacks.

Agile is a way of working that seeks to harness the inevitability of change, rather than resist it.

Generation Z comprises people born between 1996 and 2010. This generation’s identity has been shaped by the digital age, climate anxiety, a shifting financial landscape, and COVID-19.

Decision making is simply the process of making a choice. But decision making often isn’t easy and can be particularly complex in an organizational context.

Design thinking is a systemic, intuitive, customer-focused problem-solving approach that organizations can use to respond to rapidly changing environments and to create maximum impact.

CBDCs are digital currencies issued by central banks. Their value is linked to the issuing country’s official currency.

Simply put, productivity measures the amount of value created for each hour that is worked in a society.

EVs are vehicles powered by electricity and an electric motor rather than a conventional gasoline-fueled internal-combustion engine.

It's an informed perspective about how work could shift and how workforces and workplaces can prepare for those changes.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos.

Resilience is the ability to not only recover quickly from a crisis but to bounce back better—and even thrive.

Davos, Switzerland, is where the World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting. Delegates from many sectors converge for several days of talks and meetings to address urgent global issues.

Proof of stake (PoS) is a consensus protocol in blockchains. It is a way to decide which user or users validate new blocks of transactions and earn a reward for doing so correctly.

5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. Its increased speed, lower latency, and improved reliability stand to revolutionize a wide variety of industries.

A recession is the part of an economic cycle that involves an economic contraction.

Blockchain is a secure database shared across a network of participants, where up-to-date information is available to all participants at the same time.

Net zero is an ideal state where the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the earth’s atmosphere is balanced by the amount of GHGs removed. Decarbonization efforts are needed to reach net zero.

Exascale is the next milestone in computing. It’s a higher level of computer performance that will have unprecedented impact on society and the economy.

The supply chain is the interconnected journey that raw materials, components, and goods take before their assembly and sale to customers.

Innovation—in a business context—is the systematic practice of developing and marketing breakthrough products and services for adoption by customers.

It's everything an organization does to put customers first, managing their journeys and serving their needs.

It’s three values held by many organizations working to be mindful and supportive of different groups of individuals.

It's the next phase in manufacturing's digitization, driven by the rise of data, connectivity, and other tech trends.

It describes objects and a variety of technologies that connect the digital and physical worlds.

It's when you interact with your customers over whatever channels they prefer.

The term “food insecurity” refers to the economic and social conditions that limit access to safe, nutritious food—and sufficient amounts of it. More than two billion people worldwide experience food insecurity.

It's the behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, execute strategic plans, and renew organizations.

It describes how much an entity, such as a country, is increasing and improving the goods and services it produces.

It’s the use of digital capabilities delivered via the internet for organizations to operate, innovate, and serve customers.

These emerging digital spaces use virtual reality, augmented reality, and other technologies to allow for lifelike experiences online.

Inflation is the gradual loss of purchasing power, reflected in a broad rise in prices for goods and services.