the Shortlist

May 5, 2023 – Gen AI is seemingly everything, everywhere, all at once. The possibilities are limitless. But to get past the moonstruck phase,... companies need to know how the gen-AI business system is evolving and which parts of it they can plug into.

April 21, 2023 – As spring unfolds in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re pleased to bring you three stories on growth—and one on how to manage the... operational risks that are often a side effect of growth.

April 7, 2023 – One capability often sets leading companies apart from the rest. Here’s how to build yours.

March 24, 2023 – When Mary Barra joined General Motors as an 18-year-old intern, she was more likely to be struck by lightning than become CEO.... The odds were far lower than one in 750,000 (the number of GM employees at the time). Yet today, she’s nearly ten years into her tenure. How did she—and dozens of other CEOs—beat the odds?

March 10, 2023 – What did you do the last time someone disagreed with you? Did you welcome the interruption? Did you actively engage with the naysayer?... Or did you get defensive, or even shut down? While we can all agree in theory that dissent is a good thing, managing it in practice is both an art and a science.

February 24, 2023 – China is reopening. After locking down vast swathes of the country during its battle with COVID-19, the country suddenly reversed... course. Now, the rest of the world is reckoning with the (potentially inflationary) effects as the country reopens. One thing is clear: in an increasingly multipolar world, China remains a powerful draw for multinational companies (MNCs). But MNCs will have to recalibrate the risks.

February 10, 2023 – There’s more to generative AI than pictures of puppies underwater. DALL-E, ChatGPT, and other new products have set the... world on fire, triggering starry-eyed visions of the future (and much hand-wringing among content professionals). Many people have a basic question: what the heck is generative AI? But some execs are looking beyond the basics to the potential business uses for generative-AI models—from marketing to IT to risk and legal.

January 27, 2023 – Hello, Shortlist readers! This week we’re pleased to introduce a new format. We started this newsletter because... we know it’s hard to sort through all the content—from McKinsey and elsewhere—to find the articles and reports that spark ideas. From now on, we’ll bring you a carefully curated selection of our best insights: four of our best new stories, twice monthly.

December 16, 2022 – This week, we look at ways that companies can address the continuing trend of employee attrition. Plus, an innovator whose career... melds STEM and the humanities, and a Stanford business school professor on how to wield power (for the good). The Shortlist team wishes our readers happy holidays and a wonderful start to the new year.

December 9, 2022 – This week, why the fashion industry is likely to remain in a state of flux in 2023. Plus, consumer companies are turning to chief... transformation officers more often, and why it’s important for leaders to demonstrate “deliberate calm.”

December 2, 2022 – This week, we look at how globalization is shifting and what companies can do to respond. Plus, two McKinsey experts on how to... build better relationships at work, and Tech for Execs on the power of the qubit.