OUR BEST IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

Welcome to the latest edition of the CEO Shortlist, a biweekly newsletter of our best ideas for the C-suite. This week, we explore two topics that are defining CEO agendas everywhere: how to unlock B2B growth in a tougher, more competitive landscape, and what it really takes to lead your organization through today’s faster, more complex cycles of change. We appreciate the opportunity to connect and hope you find our perspectives useful and thought provoking. You can reach us at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Becca_Coggins@McKinsey.com. Thank you, as ever.

—Alex and Becca

The B2B growth test. B2B companies are facing slower demand, shifting customer expectations, and more competition than at any point in the past decade. But growth isn’t impossible—just harder. Our new research introduces seven tests for B2B growth, tests that outperforming companies ace. From sharpening your understanding of where value pools are moving to building the capabilities that top commercial teams rely on, the findings show that growth is a discipline, not an outcome. The CEOs who excel revisit their growth blueprint constantly, ensuring their commercial engines remain tuned for shifting markets.

Embracing change. Our latest research finds that the very nature of organizational change is shifting. Companies today are reinventing themselves more often, more radically, and with greater urgency than ever. As one CEO put it, “We used to change every few years. Now we change every few months.” Yet only a small fraction realize the full impact they set out to achieve. What sets them apart? It’s leaders who treat reinvention as a continuous capability—grounded in clarity of purpose, frontline ownership, and a willingness to redesign how the organization actually works.

We hope you find these ideas helpful. See you in a couple of weeks with more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite.

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