McKinsey Quarterly

Separating the signal from the noise since 1964

Editor’s Choice

The drumbeat of digital: How winning teams play

Pace and power go hand in hand for digital leaders, which typically run four times faster and pull critical strategic levers two times harder than other companies do.
Adjust and accelerate

Speak softly, make tough decisions: An interview with Alibaba Group chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang
– The chairman and CEO of China’s e-commerce giant describes Alibaba’s approach to innovation and how he balances analytics... and instinct to push himself to spot hidden opportunities.

Getting personal about change
– The need to shift mind-sets is the biggest block to successful transformations. The key lies in making the shift both individual... and institutional—at the same time.

Confronting overconfidence in talent strategy, management, and development
– Best practices are well understood. But are companies following them as closely as their leaders claim?
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The latest Five Fifty

Tech for the greater good

McKinsey Quarterly Five Fifty—Can advanced technologies such as AI improve the well-being of humans? Only if we more carefully manage its deployment and its effects on human labor.
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The Magazine

Issue

Resilience
– Addresses business resilience and how companies can prepare for the next economic downturn, explores the ins and outs of effective decision making, and takes a hard look at talent in the workplace.

In this issue

Bubbles pop, downturns stop
– Economic downturns are impossible to predict and sure as sunrise. Build resilience now, because when the sun comes up, you’d better... be moving.

Confronting the risks of artificial intelligence
– With great power comes great responsibility. Organizations can mitigate the risks of applying artificial intelligence and advanced... analytics by embracing three principles.

The decoupling of GDP and energy growth: A CEO guide
– Energy intensity is decreasing, renewables are gaining, and new efficiencies are on the way. Here’s how to build the resilience... you need to navigate rapid change.

2018 Issues

The new enterprise DNA
– Looks at how data, technologies, and design are changing the makeup of today’s companies; why it’s essential to have... a bold, agile digital strategy; and how to help your employees find more meaning in their work.

Data culture
– Explores how leaders can build a corporate culture in harmony with analytics efforts, suggests how to unleash agile teams, and... discusses the importance of maintaining employees’ health and well-being.

Taking aim with talent
– Asks what it takes to lead a people-first organization, shows how senior executives can get more comfortable with complexity,... and explores digital tools to link top talent with a company’s strategic opportunities.

Games in the strategy room
– Shows how companies can unlock big strategic moves to boost their odds of success, why competing in the digital age demands an... agile organization, and how to navigate advances in artificial intelligence.
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Columns

McKinsey Quarterly Columns

Personal perspectives on top management topics

Bias busters: Knowing when to kill a project
– You’re keen on encouraging innovation and letting a thousand flowers bloom, but how do you sort the weeds from the seeds?

Bias busters: Premortems: Being smart at the start
– Conducting a premortem can help teams anticipate project failure—and head it off at the pass.
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