It turns out that in economic slowdown, not everybody fares the same. We looked at the path traced by more than 1,000 publicly traded companies in the last crisis. The top 20 percent pulled some levers that others did not: they built a safety buffer in their balance sheet, they cut costs faster, and they invested in growth.
Inflation often signals a change in the business cycle. In this collection, we offer our best thinking on how companies can prepare and respond.
OUR LATEST ON ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
A defining moment: How Europe’s CEOs can build resilience to grow in today’s economic maelstrom
Can leaders lift their companies to the next frontier of resilience—not only to survive but also to thrive?
Article
Strategic courage in an age of volatility
-
Today’s challenging environment requires business leaders to hone their edge in three critical areas: insights, commitment, and execution.
Article
Something’s coming: How US companies can build resilience, survive a downturn, and thrive in the next cycle
-
The US economy continues to throw off mixed signals. But one thing is becoming clear: executives should prepare for an extended...
Article
Raising the resilience of your organization
-
Repeatedly rebounding from disruption is tough, but some companies have a recipe for success: a systems mindset emphasizing agility,...
Article
Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, August 2022
-
Growth moderates globally in an inflationary environment; the US Federal Reserve emphasizes its tightening course; Europe faces...
Article
Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, June 2022
-
High energy prices stoke inflation; central banks chart tightening course; supply challenges persist and industry struggles to...
Article
How inflation is flipping the economic script, in seven charts
-
The troubling trend is spilling over into every corner of the global economy, with dramatic effects. McKinsey Global Publishing...
Article
Tackling inflation and margin pressure in the sporting goods industry
-
The sporting goods industry faces new challenges from inflation and an emerging economic downturn, adding to existing pressure...
Latest Themes
Seven ways that companies can respond to uncertainty
A robust resilience playbook
Article
How distributors can build momentum in a slowdown
-
The outperformers in distribution can gain ground during these unique, uncertain times—and enter the recovery poised to create even more value.
Article
Pricing during inflation: Active management can preserve sustainable value
-
Industrial players are paying more attention to their pricing strategies to cope with inflation and ensure sustainable impact....
Article
How capital expenditure management can drive performance
-
Want to reduce project costs and timelines while increasing returns? Undertake a top-to-bottom reassessment of your capital investments...
Article
Using analytics to address inflation risks and strengthen competitive positioning
-
In the new inflationary environment, company leaders can protect their business and gain competitive advantage by deploying analytics-aided...
Podcast - MGI Research
Forward Thinking on the transformative role of intangible assets in companies and economies with Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake
-
“William Blake talked about the dark Satanic mills, these inhuman pieces of tangible capital. Intangible capital is in...
Article
Unlocking cash from your balance sheet
-
Opportunities to free up cash may be hiding in plain sight. Here are six strategies for releasing cash from your balance sheet....
Discussion Paper - MGI Research
Getting tangible about intangibles: The future of growth and productivity?
-
Companies that master the deployment of intangibles investment will be well positioned to outperform their peers.
Article
A data-driven approach to improving net working capital
-
Better performance relies on greater visibility into processes and decisions. The right combination of technology, capabilities,...
Article
Moving from cash preservation to cash excellence for the next normal
-
Companies can build on their initial response to the pandemic to elevate their cash-management capabilities.
Article
What’s keeping you from divesting?
-
Active portfolio management can create significant competitive advantages. Still, executives routinely shy away from separations....
Article
A primer in resilience: Maximizing value beyond earnings
-
Empowering the finance organization to take decisive action to strengthen the balance sheet is critical to achieving organizational...
Article
Defying cost volatility: A strategic pricing response
-
While input cost increases and volatility are challenging, they present an opportunity to improve pricing and institutionalize best practices—but margins will likely suffer if these are not executed in a strategic way.
Article
How to deal with price increases in this inflationary market
-
The return of inflation makes price negotiation a more demanding—and strategically critical—capability.
Article
Winning the race with inflation: The pricing opportunity for industrial companies
-
As inflation rises, industrial companies must take a new look at pricing.
Article
Maximizing agile productivity to meet shareholder commitments
-
Large organizations’ commitments to financial results are at odds with traditional agile methodologies. Adapting them to...
Article
Seeing the savings: Toward transparent management of portfolio companies
-
Early in the COVID-19 crisis, sponsors and portfolio companies collaborated to find ways to conserve cash. The next step, delivering...
Podcast
Cash preservation in response to COVID-19
-
How to establish a cash culture that balances urgent short-term needs with longer-term competitive considerations
Interview
Zero-based budgeting gets a second look
-
Digitization is breathing new life into a ground-up budgeting approach that debuted in the 1960s. Here’s how CFOs and other...
Article
Delivering the US manufacturing renaissance
-
The stage is set for a manufacturing resurgence in the United States. Can the country’s producers make it happen?
Article
Taking the pulse of shifting supply chains
-
Our latest survey shows global supply chains on the move.
Article
Supply chains: To build resilience, manage proactively
-
Supply chain upheavals show little sign of abating. Companies can address them by reconsidering outdated, short-term strategies...
Article
Transforming supply chains: Do you have the skills to accelerate your capabilities?
-
Despite progress over the past several years, companies are still struggling to build the capabilities that their emerging digital...
Article
To improve your supply chain, modernize your supply-chain IT
-
Global distribution issues and increasingly complex supply chains are forcing companies to modernize the tools they use for forecasting...
Article
Risk and resilience in consumer-goods supply chains
-
Consumer-goods makers’ supply chains are weathering enormous strain. Here’s a quick look at how to strengthen them...
Podcast
Diagnosing the pain in your supply chain
-
The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked global supply chains off their axes. But CEOs and other leaders can build resilience into their...
Report - MGI Research
Risk, resilience, and rebalancing in global value chains
-
Companies need an understanding of their exposure, vulnerabilities, and potential losses to inform resilience strategies.
Article
Turn slow-moving inventory into fast profits
-
For industrial-services organizations, slow-moving inventory can be a drag on financial performance. Why not transform it into...
Article
The ten rules of growth
-
Empirical research reveals what it takes to generate value-creating growth today.
Article
Choosing to grow: The leader’s blueprint
-
Driving sustainable, inclusive growth requires the right mindset, strategy, and capabilities. Here are some steps that could...
Article
Fear factor: Overcoming human barriers to innovation
-
Worries about failure, criticism, and career impact hold back many people from embracing innovation. Here’s how to create...
Interview
In conversation: The CFO’s critical role in innovation
-
By embracing discipline and well-defined processes, innovation teams can make finance leaders their biggest allies.
Article
The flip side of large M&A deals
-
Research shows there is a 50-50 chance that companies pursuing large M&A deals will outperform industry peers. Here are the...
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
How one approach to M&A is more likely to create value than all others
-
Two decades of research show that, while large deals still have their place, programmatic M&A strategies continue to create...
Article
The power of through-cycle M&A
-
How companies can use deal making to accelerate strategic shifts during the COVID-19 crisis.
Article
A blueprint for M&A success
-
Programmatic M&A can help companies build resiliency, but this approach to deal making requires a solid game plan—one...
Article
Are you a growth leader? The seven beliefs and behaviors that growth leaders share
-
A new survey highlights what separates growth leaders from the pack.
Article
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.
Article
Choosing to grow: The leader’s blueprint
-
Driving sustainable, inclusive growth requires the right mindset, strategy, and capabilities. Here are some steps that could...
Podcast
Redefining the modern CEO
-
COVID-19 and other recent global crises have necessitated a redefinition of the role of 21st century leaders. In this McKinsey...
Report - MGI Research
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...
Podcast
Stave off attrition with an internal talent marketplace
-
Is your best talent hiding in plain sight? An internal talent marketplace helps match existing employees to open roles—in...
Podcast
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...
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours
-
A record number of employees are quitting or thinking about doing so. Organizations that take the time to learn why—and act thoughtfully—will...
Article
For smarter decisions, empower your employees
-
Fully empowered employees make good decisions and resolve problems. We explore how various leadership and management styles can...
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
The CEO moment: Leadership for a new era
-
Challenged by the global pandemic, CEOs have made four shifts in the way they lead that hold great promise for both companies...
Article
Cybersecurity trends: Looking over the horizon
-
McKinsey examines three of the latest cybersecurity trends and their implications for organizations facing new and emerging cyberrisks and threats.
Article
Securing your organization by recruiting, hiring, and retaining cybersecurity talent to reduce cyberrisk
-
Shed the conventional methods. Talent-to-value protection defines the most important cybersecurity roles that demonstrate the...
Article
Financial institutions and nonfinancial risk: How corporates build resilience
-
As nonfinancial companies move from enterprise risk management to a resilience-based approach, their experience in nonfinancial...
Blog Post
What you need to know about data and data privacy
-
Over the past two years, organizations have faced increasing pressure to embrace digital technologies and meet evolving consumer...
Article
Safeguarding against cyberattack in an increasingly digital world
-
There are actions businesses can take to safeguard their organizations from the growing risk of cyberattack.