Welcome to McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of McKinsey & Company.
FEBRUARY 2009
To anticipate the moves of your rivals, you must understand how their strategists and decision makers think.
JANUARY 2009
Even when companies change their strategies spontaneously, their competitors have a good chance of figuring out what they’ll do and when.
JULY 2008
In one of a series of interactive presentations, McKinsey director emeritus John Stuckey comments on SCP, a framework that illustrates the influence of an industry's structure on the conduct and performance of industry players, and the effects of external shocks on all three.
DECEMBER 2008
Past financial crises had very different effects on the real economy. Although the lessons of the past don't give much cause for optimism, they do provide hints on how companies should prepare this time around.
The range of possible futures confronting business is great. Companies that nurture flexibility, awareness, and resiliency are more likely to survive the crisis, and even to prosper.
During hard times, a structural break in the economy is an opportunity in disguise. To survive—and, eventually, to flourish—companies must learn to exploit it.
It doesn’t matter where scientific discoveries and breakthrough technologies originate—for national prosperity, the important thing is who commercializes them. The United States is not behind in that race.
Web 2.0 tools present .
Alberto Alessi, head of his family’s iconic design factory, talks about how to sustain innovation over decades—and why companies should take more risk.
The year 2009 will be challenging for CIOs. Here’s how to play your hand.
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APRIL 2008
The authors of The Granularity of Growth explain why the best strategies begin with a precise understanding of market and product opportunities.
MAY 2008
In an interview, the Nobel Laureate says organizations should think of decisions like any other product, and apply quality controls.
NOVEMBER 2007
Management guru C.K. Prahalad examines the technique of tapping individual consumers to help develop products and create appealing experiences.
Read the article, then tell us what you think by writing a letter to the editor.
To meet the challenges of the economic crisis, corporate boards must change the way they work.
In this adaptation from Hayagreeva Rao’s book, he explains the role of activists in making or breaking new markets, products, and services.
As concern over global problems mounts, executives and regulators have everything to gain from building relationships based on trust, and developing solutions that benefit a wide range of stakeholders.
NOVEMBER 2008
A new way of looking at industry structures reveals startling patterns of inequality among even the largest companies.
Chief strategy officers from several high-profile companies discuss the complexities and challenges of the role.
Formalizing a company’s ad hoc peer groups can spur collaboration and unlock value.
JULY 2007
Companies that stick to valuation basics can capture any value that would make them attractive for takeover bids.
AUGUST 2007
It can be a frustrating exercise, but there are ways to increase its value.
Executives who frequently think about and act on all the elements of the centered leadership model are also more likely than others to be satisfied with their jobs.
Irrational thinking doesn’t just affect individual economic decisions; it affects corporate strategic planning as well. These results highlight the practices of companies that have made successful strategic decisions—and also reveal what the same companies have gotten wrong.
Companies get a lot of advice about how to make good decisions. Which decision-making disciplines really make a difference?
A recent McKinsey Global Survey shows that companies are satisfied, overall, with their use of metrics to assess innovation portfolios—though many findings suggest that they shouldn’t be. The companies that get the highest returns from innovation do use metrics well; these organizations tend to assess innovation more comprehensively than the others.
OCTOBER 2008
When business leaders assess how societal issues will affect shareholder value, many see operational opportunities where they once saw risks. But executives have yet to fathom the extent to which the public expects companies to address major global problems.
Google’s chief economist says executives in wired organizations need a sharper understanding of how technology empowers innovation.
A coauthor of Creative Destruction explains how the business world—and the capitalist system—will change in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
The author of The Black Swan explains why the rarity and unpredictability of certain events does not make them unimportant.
Although even the highest levels of uncertainty don’t prevent businesses from analyzing predicaments rationally, says author Hugh Courtney, the financial crisis has shown us the limits of our tools—and minds.
Will the country’s economic fortunes fade as growth elsewhere declines? Jonathan Anderson doesn’t think so.
Tim Brown, whose company specializes in innovation, distills the lessons of his career.
SEPTEMBER 2008
How the Internet will change the nature of competition, innovation, and company operations.
Sandra Dawson addresses the changing role of women in business over the last 40 years.
MARCH 2008
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