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McKinsey Quarterly 2019 Number 2
Back to McKinsey Quarterly Magazine McKinsey Quarterly 2019 Number 2

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.

Resilience

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

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.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

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.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

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.
Interview - McKinsey Quarterly

Ten years at the top of a telco: An interview with Vittorio Colao
– The former CEO of Vodafone, who stepped down from the top job last September, reflects on the industry’s challenges and what he learned as a successful global dealmaker.

Decisions: Smarter, Better, Faster

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

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

Good decisions don’t have to be slow ones
– Executives often assume that speed comes at the cost of quality in decision making. A survey challenges this belief and offers tips on getting the best of both worlds.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Lessons from the front line of corporate nudging
– Executives setting up a behavioral-science unit should start by challenging themselves with six questions.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

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

Rethinking talent and potential

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Are we long—or short—on talent?
– By looking at their supply of skills and talent in a new light today, organizations can take actions that better prepare their companies for tomorrow’s challenges.
Commentary - McKinsey Quarterly

Competitive advantage with a human dimension: From lifelong learning to lifelong employability
– As AI-enabled automation advances, organizations should embrace “lifelong employability,” which stretches traditional notions of learning and development and can inspire workers to adapt, more routinely, to the evolving economy.

Research, trends, and emerging thinking

Article - McKinsey Quarterly

Short-term pain for long-term gain: The new CEO’s dilemma
– CEOs who pivot to a longer view of health and performance make the right moves for their companies, though it’s sometimes their successors who reap the rewards.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

How automation could affect employment for women in the United Kingdom and minorities in the United States
– As adoption increases, new research looks into the consequences for women’s jobs in the United Kingdom and those of African American workers.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The right digital-platform strategy
– Many incumbents are starting to build their own platforms or to forge ties with others. The penalty for not playing may be steep.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

A new housing ecosystem: $3.8 trillion under one roof
– Digital platforms open new opportunities for connecting, integrating, and reimagining a traditional sector. Zeroing in on specific segments and pain points shows how.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly

The tougher competitors in emerging markets
– Companies in developing economies are becoming battle hardened as they vie for growth and plug into advanced technologies. Wealth is piling up in areas of economic vitality.
Commentary - McKinsey Quarterly

Building data-driven culture: An interview with ShopRunner CEO Sam Yagan
– Sam Yagan, current ShopRunner CEO, cofounder of OkCupid, and former Match Group CEO, discusses the importance of culture for driving data-based decision making, innovation, and, ultimately, company success.