McKinsey Quarterly 2018 Number 2
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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.

Taking aim with talent

Book Excerpt - McKinsey Quarterly

An agenda for the talent-first CEO
– In tumultuous times, a company’s talent is its most valuable and reliable asset. What does it take to lead an organization that truly unleashes its human capital?
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Linking talent to value
– Getting the best people into the most important roles does not happen by chance; it requires a disciplined look at where the organization really creates value and how top talent contributes.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The fairness factor in performance management
– Many systems are under stress because employees harbor doubts that the core elements are equitable. A few practical steps can change that.

Spotlight on leadership

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

Will artificial intelligence make you a better leader?
– Agile leadership and AI both depend on learning to let go.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The leadership journey of Abraham Lincoln
– Hear the call to action contained in Abraham Lincoln’s story, and get to work. The world has never needed you and other real leaders more than it does now.

Other features

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Eight shifts that will take your strategy into high gear
– Developing a great strategy starts with changing the dynamics in your strategy room. Here’s how.
Interview - McKinsey Quarterly

Digitizing dairy in China
– The CEO of China’s second-largest dairy company describes how data and artificial intelligence are shaking up how he does business.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Still looking for room at the top: Ten years of research on women in the workplace
– What we know—and what everyone needs to know—about the quest for equality.

Research, trends, and emerging thinking

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

AI’s growing impact
– Smart machines are giving storytellers and risk managers alike a helping hand.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Booming cities, unintended consequences
– Roadways clogged by commercial vehicles and intense competition for affordable housing are imposing costs on prosperous cities and their most vulnerable residents.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Three surprising resource implications from the rise of electric vehicles
– The economic consequences for energy, raw materials, and land may not be what you’d expect.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Taking the measure of innovation
– Don’t overlook the insight that two simple metrics can yield about the effectiveness of your R&D spending.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

China’s fast climb up the value chain
– From high-tech unicorns to specialty chemicals, the country’s economy is moving swiftly beyond its lower-margin roots.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Is the Solow Paradox back?
– Digitization isn’t stimulating productivity growth—yet.