Sharpen your problem-solving skills the McKinsey way, with our weekly crossword. Each puzzle is created with the McKinsey audience in mind, and includes a subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) business theme for you to find. Answers that are directionally correct may not cut it if you’re looking for a quick win.
A seismic threefold increase in advanced-manufacturing investment could transform rural America by driving economic growth, creating high-quality jobs, and revitalizing communities.
Life sciences companies are spending big on new capital projects. Industry leaders who embrace capital excellence could secure a competitive edge.
Five leading cybersecurity executives and public company directors discuss how chief information security officers and boards can work together to grow and protect their organizations.
Six strategies could catalyze growth and improve the well-being and economic mobility of rural residents across the country.
When a case reaches trial, the judge is expected to be an impartial referee who ensures that justice is served. But new research suggests that a judge’s ultimate decision is often as arbitrary as the flip of a coin—which may actually be a sign of a healthy justice system. Centuries of legal research have shown that judges often make decisions based on bias, chance, or other nonlegal considerations. For example,…
In 2001, the Chinese auto industry sold fewer than a million cars. By 2017, it was responsible for more than a third of all the cars produced or sold on earth. Quality improved, too: between 2001 and 2014, malfunction rates in domestic Chinese passenger vehicles fell by 75 percent. How did this growth happen so quickly? Part of the answer has to do with “knowledge spillovers” from foreign auto firms…
An entrepreneur arrives at a bank and asks for funding; a family asks for a mortgage; a medium-sized business asks for a loan. Whether the bank provides financing in each case boils down to the question of lending standards. With looser standards, the borrowers are more likely to get their money, while with tighter standards, they are less likely. For banks, there is an important trade-off at play here. A…
Earlier this year, AI developer Anthropic released a new model that can spend more time “thinking” through a problem, similarly to the way a person might. Stanford and IBM developed AI “twins” of more than 1,000 people that supposedly reason and make decisions just like their real-life counterparts. The hope, for many companies in this space, is to build AI models that reason in a manner that is nearly indistinguishable…
When Uber started its surge pricing policy in late 2011, outrage quickly ensued. Horror stories emerged about rides on New Year’s Eve or during snowstorms costing multiple times the standard rate—in one case, 50 times the regular fare. So when U.S. grocery retailers like Walmart and Kroger announced in 2024 that they would start using electronic shelf labels (or digital price labels) in their stores, it naturally raised alarm bells…
Powering AI and new computation technologies can accelerate data center project delivery and optimize spending to reduce the projected $1.7 trillion global spend through 2030 by up to $250 billion.
Six building blocks could help pharma organizations slash filing timelines from months to weeks, potentially unlocking as much as $180 million in net present value for priority assets.
By harnessing gen AI, companies can leapfrog from selling data to building robust data products that deliver actionable intelligence and unlock previously untapped value.
Creating a successful business venture is more than just a notion. An executive coach outlines the risks and rewards of business building and shares the core elements of successful start-ups.
A new target operating model is crucial if gas distribution system operators are to capture the opportunities presented by changing market forces.
As overall investment trends in future mobility have remained steady, analysis reveals that the market is undergoing deeper structural change.
At Cannes Lions, McKinsey partner Eli Stein and Jasper CMO Loreal Lynch explore unlocking AI value at scale and building personalization that performs.
How can organizations move from reactive mental health efforts to proactive well-being strategies? A Cambridge professor shares a blueprint for supporting teams from the inside out.
The field of robotics presents opportunities in industries from manufacturing to healthcare to agriculture. Researchers are exploring the ethical and safety implications to set safe guardrails.
Stop tinkering with your org chart. Start rethinking your operating model—and closing the gap between strategy and performance as a result.
Facing a complex array of threats, payments providers will need to embrace a mix of traditional and emerging approaches.
Thanks to a confluence of factors, Swiss online platforms could be positioned for accelerated growth.
A data center is a facility that houses and runs IT infrastructure that’s critical to the digital economy, particularly gen AI.
Emerging trends, shifting demands, and growing supply chain complexity are reshaping the landscape for apparel manufacturers. McKinsey partner Javier del Pozo shares his thoughts on moving forward.
Public-company boards can boost their effectiveness by embracing key strategies from the private equity playbook to enhance value creation and long-term impact.
The purpose of Bank Overground is to share our internal analysis. Each bite-sized post summarises a piece of analysis that supported a policy or operational decision.
On June 30, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) published new Guidelines for PMPRB Staff (the Guidelines) that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. These new Guidelines are described as non-binding, and were developed to address both amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations and new case law. In June 2019, amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations were announced; BLG published a previous Insight summarizing them. These amendments were…
In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Eric Quiñones chats with Robert Rosenkranz, chairman of Delphi Capital Management, about The Stoic Capitalist: Advice for the Exceptionally Ambitious (Bloomsbury Business/Bloomsbury Publishing, May 2025). Rosenkranz explains how adopting Stoic principles of a well-lived life can benefit people both professionally and personally. He points to the Stoics’ emphases on being guided by reason rather than emotion, prioritizing time as a precious…
Dementias such as Alzheimer's disease are estimated to affect more than 57.4 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to almost triple to 152.8 million cases by 2050. The impacts on the individuals, families and caregivers and society at large are immense.While there are some indications that the prevalence of dementia is decreasing in Europe and North America, suggesting that it may be possible to reduce the risk of…
Quick Hits Ohio WARN largely mirrors the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by requiring covered employers to provide sixty days’ advance notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. Ohio WARN includes ambiguities regarding its stated intent and which “mass layoffs” will trigger its notice requirements. Ohio WARN includes state-specific notice content requirements, including “[a] detailed statement explaining the reason” for the closure or mass layoff and…
Large-scale projects requiring environmental or impact assessments in Canada are not static: as projects commence and develop, their needs can shift, or plans change. A key question for project proponents is how those changes will impact existing environmental permits, and what the amendment process will look like. A recent Federal Court decision has provided important clarity, confirming that project amendments are to be assessed against the same standards applied in…
Medical technology companies’ R&D functions are contending with ever-increasing costs and complexity: R&D spending is increasing at 10 percent a year, the average time to market is now more than four years, and after a busy 2024 for industry M&As, 2025 is off to an even busier start, according to McKinsey analysis. Meanwhile, digital technology—for new products and for accelerating product development—has become essential, even for companies with little track…
Howie and Harlan are joined by public health communicator Katelyn Jetelina for updates on COVID-19 and other issues, and to discuss how her emails to students and colleagues in the early days of the pandemic turned into a platform with global reach. Harlan looks at how AI is being used on both sides of the battle between providers and insurers over claims; Howie reports on a setback with a promising…
According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025, 80% of HR professionals lack confidence in their leadership pipelines. CEOs are just as concerned, ranking “developing the next generation of leaders” among their top four worries. Gen Z is shaking things up. They’re 1.7 times more likely than other generations to step away from leadership roles to protect their well-being. Over half say they’re purposely avoiding management, and nearly 70% see middle…
Rare earth elements (REEs) have emerged as essential building blocks for enabling the energy transition. This is particularly true for specific REEs needed to make REE magnets, which are used in e-motors and wind turbines. With an expected surge in demand for REEs in the next decade facing a mined and refined supply that is highly concentrated in China, global and local supply chains will need to navigate significant geopolitical…
It’s hard enough to successfully integrate organizations after an M&A. For organizations on the buy-side of a carve-out, the deal comes with added complication: integrating new assets while also managing engaged sellers’ often-opposing interests (see sidebar, “What exactly does ‘buy-side carve-out’ mean?”). Day one and business continuity risks are high in these deals, making it crucial to work out a profusion of planning and resourcing details.McKinsey’s proprietary research shows that…
The European Union (EU) has embarked on a significant reform of its customs framework, driven by a range of pressing issues and the need to modernize its processes. On June 27, 2025, EU lawmakers reached a landmark agreement on the Union Customs Code reform, setting the stage for a sweeping modernization of the EU’s customs framework, which is the biggest overhaul since 1968. This reform is poised to transform how…
Crises have a way of revealing both weaknesses and strengths. For Novelis, a global producer of flat-rolled aluminum products and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum, crisis came in June 2024 when a flood swept through Sierre, Switzerland, one of Novelis’s largest production sites in Europe. The extreme flooding caused the company to declare force majeure—that is, the company wasn’t able to fulfill its contractual obligations due to…
Lord Smith, the outgoing Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, becomes the 109th Chancellor and will hold the office for ten years. He said: “To be elected as Chancellor of the University I love is a huge honour. I’m thrilled. I look forward to being the best possible ambassador for Cambridge, to being a strong voice for higher education more generally, and to working closely together with the Vice-Chancellor and her team.” Lord Smith’s election…
The clean-energy landscape today looks bumpy, marked by broad uncertainties across a fast-changing space. Global decarbonization and European energy independence rely on the deployment of clean-energy technology. Yet geopolitical and technological developments are creating potential disruptions, shifting focus from a rapid energy transition to other priorities, including the race to lead in gen AI, increased defense budgets in European countries, and new trade alliances. Today’s evolving tariff environment piles on…