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Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot. Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more pronounced, according to McKinsey Partner Alexander Thiel. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Alexander joins Global Editorial Director and Deputy Publisher Lucia Rahilly to discuss this year’s whipsawing consumer trends, as well as what sporting goods leaders can do to harness them to combat slowing growth.The McKinsey Podcast is cohosted…

Energy demand in the United States is projected to grow roughly ten times as fast in the coming decade as it did over the past ten years. This is largely driven by electrification, data center load growth, and increased demand from the manufacturing sector. While renewables are expected to make up a significant share of the new supply to meet this demand, they are not enough: To reliably deliver power…

Every chief operating officer (COO) knows this simple truth: Delivering the company’s strategy isn’t just part of the job—it is the job. While there are many paths to achieving that goal, none can succeed for long without increased productivity, the foundation for financial performance and economic growth. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, global productivity growth has largely declined around the world. Even before the crisis, advanced economies’ productivity growth…

The global asset management industry is at a critical juncture. Longstanding tailwinds —primarily in the form of low interest rates and stable GDP growth—have changed direction, compounding ongoing challenges presented by the shift from active to passive and traditional to alternatives. Together, these trends are forcing firms to discover more sustainable pathways to outperformance. After a decade of unprecedented market growth, industry costs have become increasingly sticky and revenues unpredictable.…

Findings from economic geographer Bent Flyvbjerg, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management (Oxford University Press, June 2017), confirm a stark reality: Out of a database of 16,000 projects, only 8.5 percent met their cost and schedule targets, and a mere 0.5 percent achieved all promised benefits. This phenomenon, which he calls the “iron law of megaprojects,” underscores that underperformance is the norm. We agree, as our in-depth review…

For generations, automotive OEMs sought to distinguish themselves in the marketplace through the styling, quality, and performance of their cars. Another front, software development, is now a top priority. As cars have become more reliant on software to enable required systems and functions as well as to create a distinctive customer experience, conventional OEMs have struggled to keep up with development speed, quality, and cost—mainly due to their legacy setup.…

Construction is one of the world’s largest industries, accounting for 13 percent of global GDP. Yet it also struggles with low productivity growth and performance while facing urgent needs for more skilled labor, steadier supply chains, simpler regulations, and predictable commodity and equipment pricing. These would be challenging at any time but are particularly significant today as investment surges amid infrastructure renewal, the energy transition, and increased demand for data…

Once in a great while, a technological innovation comes along that changes the world, and businesses have to adjust—or potentially decline into irrelevance. The Industrial Revolution’s steam engine and the mechanization of production allowed for a shift from largely agrarian to urban lifestyles. The birth of the internet brought us enhanced real-time communication, e-commerce, cloud computing, and more. Now, it’s AI’s turn. This powerful technology is rapidly transforming workflows, driving…

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformations are often large and complex investments that can cost millions of dollars and take many years to complete. They are also notoriously difficult to manage, and it is not uncommon for companies to run into delays and cost increases. METRO AG, a multinational food wholesaler based in Düsseldorf, Germany, was facing significant problems with its ERP transformation. In this interview, McKinsey’s Florian Bauer speaks with…

Business leaders have come to a stark revelation: The gap between their companies’ tech workers and their nontech colleagues must shrink. The emergence of digital technologies, especially the rapid rise of AI over the past two years, comes with immense promise to unleash growth and productivity. But companies will not see those benefits if their employees are not up to speed. Achieving the full benefits of digital and AI technologies…

It has been described as “the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU.” On May 6, 2025, the United Kingdom and India signed the historic UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which both governments estimate will increase bilateral trade by $34 billion a year. This comes on top of a near doubling of the existing trading relationship between the two countries from…