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The 2020 graduate’s guide to a new world of work

A multimedia anthology to help you hit the ground running in your new job or internship, curated from our extensive collection of insights.

Get ready for a new world

Article

The future is not what it used to be: Thoughts on the shape of the next normal

– The coronavirus crisis is a world-changing event. Here are seven elements for business leaders to consider as they plan for the next normal.
Podcast

How to master the seven-step problem-solving process
– Structured problem solving can be used to address almost any complex challenge in business or public policy.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Want a better decision? Plan a better meeting
– Effective meetings produce better business decisions. Yet too many decision meetings are doomed from the get-go. You can do better.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Addressing climate change in a post-pandemic world
– The coronavirus crisis holds profound lessons that can help us address climate change—if we make greater economic and environmental... resiliency core to our planning for the recovery ahead.

Interviews/podcasts

An interview with Satya Nadella
– CEO Satya Nadella talks about innovation, disruption, and organizational change.

An interview with Eric Schmidt
– As we enter a new golden age of technological innovation, nurturing talent will become more critical, according to the former... chairman of Alphabet.

An interview with Sheryl Sandberg
– Coming to terms with that reality is invaluable for women trying to find fulfillment as both great leaders and great parents.

An interview with Howard Schultz
– The company once grew fast. Now CEO Howard Schultz wants it to grow with discipline—in emerging and developed markets alike.

An interview with Arianna Huffington
– Better sleep and less stress can improve your performance. The Thrive Global founder shares some tools that could help.

An interview with Alan Mulally
– Automaker Ford was losing billions of dollars when Alan Mulally took the wheel, in 2006. Here, he reflects on his leadership style... and his efforts to turn around the organization.

An interview with Larry Fink
– The physical impact of climate change will lead to a major capital reallocation, says the head of BlackRock, the world’s largest... asset manager.

An interview with Tony Hsieh
– Organizations are more likely to innovate and thrive when they unleash the potential of individuals and the power of self-organizing... teams, says the online retailer’s CEO.

An interview with Matt Damon and Gary White
– What does it take to get clean water to those who need it? According to the cofounders of Water.org, actor Matt Damon and Gary... White, less than you may think—and the payback is tremendous.

An interview with Kevin Ozan
– Kevin Ozan became CFO of McDonald’s in 2015. Since then, the restaurant chain has had a string of successes. Here’s... his take on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next for the iconic brand.

An interview with Ed Catmull
– The cofounder of the company that created the world’s first computer-animated feature film lays out a management philosophy... for keeping Pixar innovative.

An interview with Reshma Saujani
– The founder of Girls Who Code discusses the need for gender diversity in technical fields and ways companies can begin to achieve... it.

An interview with Al Gore and David Blood
– The former vice president and his partner in an investment-management firm argue that sustainability investing is essential to... creating long-term shareholder value.

An interview with Ellen MacArthur
– The yachtswoman and founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation discusses her vision for a global economy in which scarce resources... are reused and not sent to landfills.

An interview with Richard Thaler
– The University of Chicago professor explains how executives can battle back against biases that can affect their decision making.

An interview with Clay Shirky
– How we collaborate has profound implications for how we live and work. The author and New York University professor explains how... social media has upended traditional norms.

Careers at McKinsey

Learn about careers at McKinsey by reading profiles, launching a job search, or exploring the firm.

Diversity

Report - McKinsey Global Institute

The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation

– Concerted and creative new solutions are needed to enable women to seize new opportunities in the automation age; without them, women may fall further behind in the world of work.
Report

Delivering through diversity
– Our latest research reinforces the link between diversity and company financial performance—and suggests how organizations can... craft better inclusion strategies for a competitive edge.
Article

Women in the Workplace 2019
– Five years in to our research, we see bright spots at senior levels. But companies need to focus their efforts earlier in the... pipeline to make real progress.
Report

Reinventing the workplace for greater gender diversity
– Three efforts could kick-start progress to get more women in leadership positions.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Centered leadership: How talented women thrive
– A new approach to leadership can help women become more self-confident and effective business leaders.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth
– A McKinsey Global Institute report finds that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality.... The public, private, and social sectors will need to act to close gender gaps in work and society.
Commentary - McKinsey Quarterly

Addressing unconscious bias
– Does lopsided male representation in media skew our perceptions? Geena Davis believes it does and corporations have a critical... role in driving change.

Corporate social responsibility

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Purpose: Shifting from why to how

– What is your company’s core reason for being, and where can you have a unique, positive impact on society? Now more than ever, you need good answers to these questions.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

The social contract in the 21st century
– Economic outcomes and the relationship between individuals and institutions have shifted for workers, consumers, and savers in... advanced economies.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts
– How could Earth’s changing climate impact socioeconomic systems across the world in the next three decades? A yearlong, cross-disciplinary... research effort at McKinsey & Company provides some answers.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Five ways that ESG creates value
– Getting your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) proposition right links to higher value creation. Here’s why.

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Get McKinsey’s latest insights about whichever industry you’re entering—or any of our seven newsletters—delivered directly to your inbox.
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Income inequality

Report - McKinsey Global Institute

Poorer than their parents? A new perspective on income inequality

– The real incomes of about two-thirds of households in 25 advanced economies were flat or fell between 2005 and 2014. Without action, this phenomenon could have corrosive economic and social consequences.

Future of work

Report - McKinsey Global Institute

The future of work in America: People and places, today and tomorrow

– The health of local economies today will affect their ability to adapt and thrive in the automation age.
Video - McKinsey Global Institute

The digital future of work: What skills will be needed?
– Robots have long carried out routine physical activities, but increasingly machines can also take on more sophisticated tasks.... Experts provide advice on the skills people will need going forward.
Executive Briefing - McKinsey Global Institute

Technology, jobs, and the future of work
– Automation, digital platforms, and other innovations are changing the fundamental nature of work. Understanding these shifts can... help policy makers, business leaders, and workers move forward.
Executive Briefing - McKinsey Global Institute

AI, automation, and the future of work: Ten things to solve for
– As machines increasingly complement human labor in the workplace, we will all need to adjust to reap the benefits.

Work life

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Making work meaningful: A leader’s guide

– People who find meaning at work are happier, more productive, and more engaged. Four practical interventions can help make the search more likely to succeed.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Seven steps to better brainstorming
– Most attempts at brainstorming are doomed. To generate better ideas—and boost the odds that your organization will act on them—start... by asking better questions.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The organizational cost of insufficient sleep
– Sleep-awareness programs can produce better leaders.
Podcast - McKinsey Quarterly

The art and science of well-being at work
– Leaders of high-intensity, high-performing organizations are beginning to recognize the important effects of mindfulness, exercise,... and sleep on the body—and the brain.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The overlooked essentials of employee well-being
– If you really want to increase employees’ health and well-being, focus on job control and social support.
Podcast

Behavioral science in business: Nudging, debiasing, and managing the irrational mind
– Behavioral science has become a hot topic in companies and organizations trying to address the biases that drive day-to-day decisions... and actions.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The halo effect, and other managerial delusions
– Companies cannot achieve superior and lasting business performance simply by following a specific set of steps.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Three keys to faster, better decisions
– Decision makers fed up with slow or subpar results take heart. Three practices can help improve decision making and convince ... skeptical business leaders that there is life after death by committee.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The hidden toll of workplace incivility
– Research shows that hurtful workplace behavior can depress performance, increase employee turnover, and even mar customer relationships.

Leadership

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Getting beyond the BS of leadership literature
– Management books and commentaries often oversimplify, seldom providing useful guidance about the skills and behavior needed to... get things done. Here’s a better reading list for leaders.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Want to be a better leader? Observe more and react less
– Overloaded executives need coping mechanisms. This personal reflection shows how meditation can help.
Interview - McKinsey Quarterly

Leadership and behavior: Mastering the mechanics of reason and emotion
– A Nobel Prize winner and a leading behavioral economist offer common sense and counterintuitive insights on performance, collaboration,... and innovation.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Decoding leadership: What really matters
– New research suggests that the secret to developing effective leaders is to encourage four types of behavior.
Article

Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges
– For many executives, the coronavirus pandemic is a crisis unlike any other in recent times. Five leadership practices can help... you respond effectively.
Article

The mindsets and practices of excellent CEOs
– The CEO’s job is as difficult as it is important. Here is a guide to how the best CEOs think and act.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Leading with inner agility
– Disruptive times call for transformational leaders with a knack for addressing complex problems. To navigate effectively, we must... learn to let go—and become more complex ourselves.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

What’s missing in leadership development?
– Only a few actions matter, and they require the CEO’s attention.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Why leadership-development programs fail
– Sidestepping four common mistakes can help companies develop stronger and more capable leaders, save time and money, and boost... morale.

Innovation

Podcast

The power of design thinking

– Infusing your organization with a design-driven culture that puts the customer first may provide not only real, measurable results but also a distinct competitive advantage.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Leadership and innovation
– McKinsey research reveals a wide gap between the aspirations of executives to innovate and their ability to execute. Organizational... structures and processes are not the solution.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The eight essentials of innovation
– Strategic and organizational factors are what separate successful big-company innovators from the rest of the field.