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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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.Why does capital efficiency matter more than ever today? Ishaan Nangia: Capital efficiency matters more today than ever because of the confluence of three forces we’re seeing at play. The first is geopolitical uncertainty, driving huge cost increases and supply chain challenges. For example, some materials categories have grown in cost by 90 percent since 2020. If we look at skilled labor across…

Dilip Shanghvi established Sun Pharma more than 40 years ago, and since its founding, the Mumbai-based company has become the largest pharmaceutical company in India and is active in more than 100 countries across the globe. After four decades, Shanghvi has succeeded in developing the company by approaching bold risks in a calculated way, balancing resilience and innovation. But he hasn’t done it alone—Shanghvi has also prioritized building a collaborative…

I belong. I contribute. I have a future here. When frontline production workers are saying that, companies can rest assured they’re doing something right. Every employer in the production ecosystem should aspire to cultivate these sentiments. And it’s not just a matter of fuzzy feelings—companies thrive when their workers do, and vice versa. Amid today’s incredibly competitive market for frontline production talent, there’s little margin for error. Industry continues to…

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.Scott Woodruff: We're seeing a range of trends that are changing, and in some cases disrupting, the way companies develop and commercialize products. One trend is the influx of technology. Advances in AI and generative AI are really having an impact across the end-to-end development process, driving faster time to market and better product results. The second trend is packaging rising to the…

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.What are the most significant impacts of AI and gen AI on supply chain planning and execution? What can we learn from leaders who have successfully scaled these innovations? I think today we’re finally at a time when gen AI is more than just hype. I’ve seen this play out in the supply chain across industries, and there are three important use cases…

The US healthcare system has long been lauded for its innovation and high caliber of talent. But alongside these accomplishments are some major downfalls. Healthcare in the United States is expensive—for individuals and companies—and it’s only getting pricier. The healthcare system has relied on the same organizational structures and processes for treating patients for more than 100 years, even though the world has changed exponentially around it. And although innovative…

As chief people and sustainability officer for Xylem, a global water solutions provider, Claudia Toussaint has helped oversee an operating model transformation that is on track to meet its strategic goals. In an interview with McKinsey Senior Partner Brooke Weddle, Toussaint discusses how analytics and other tools—including tiny robots that can crawl through pipes to warn of potential water breaks—reflect the company’s sustainability principles and bring value to customers. Toussaint…

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.Amid disruptions, where are the biggest opportunities for improvements in customer service? Services represent 60 percent of the $100 trillion global economy, and they are at a pivotal moment now. For service organizations to stay ahead, there are a few big opportunities they cannot miss. First is the realization that the era of incremental improvements is over. Service institutions have a unique opportunity…