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As geopolitical tensions persist, global trade dynamics are becoming increasingly complex—and many leaders find themselves on tenterhooks. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Cindy Levy and Shubham Singhal, two global coleaders of McKinsey’s geopolitics work, join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how to move forward amid rapidly reconfiguring trade relationships—regardless of the way current tariff talks play out.This conversation has been adapted from our McKinsey Live series. The…

The gap is widening between what is needed from an efficient, effective HR function and what most organizations currently offer. Enhancing employee experience is widely seen as a cornerstone duty of HR, but about 36 percent of employees across Europe and the United States are not satisfied with their current employer. And most HR departments are still far from making full use of the tools and practices available to them,…

Consider a scenario in which state government leaders have three generational transit projects they could invest in but enough capital to support only one. Each project carries distinct benefits as well as unique trade-offs. As they evaluate options, leaders struggle to balance the risks and rewards, given the many competing priorities across the state. Moreover, with each option having a high, irreversible capital cost, making a suboptimal decision is expensive.…

Stepping into the role of chief risk officer (CRO) comes with a lot of questions: Where to start, what to prioritize, and how to make an impact? The way new CROs approach these questions in their earliest months shapes their ability to achieve long-term success.To understand the mindsets, skills, and practices that work best for new CROs, McKinsey conducted in-depth interviews with more than 30 current and former CROs of…

In the modern economy, almost every business is a tech business, with digitization, automation, and data solutions embedded into multiple operations. But with these advancements come risks. One of the most critical risks is that responsibility for technology often does not sit with companies themselves but instead with an array of third-party suppliers, service providers, and subcontractors. By outsourcing IT services, companies can unlock efficiencies and innovation. The downside is…

In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Raju Narisetti chats with Steve Grove, CEO and publisher of The Minnesota Star Tribune, about How I Found Myself in the Midwest: A Memoir of Reinvention (Simon & Schuster, June 2025). Grove, the former founding director of Google News Lab, left Silicon Valley and his work helping start-ups innovate and returned to his home state of Minnesota to explore a new…

When the business landscape is as unsettled as it is right now, all eyes turn to the CEO. Employees, boards of directors, investors, customers, suppliers, regulators, and other important stakeholders are increasingly looking to CEOs for more context and perspective on the risks and opportunities associated with disruptive trends—geopolitics, generative AI, shifting workplace dynamics, and dozens more. Stakeholders’ influence has only grown over the years as business operations and value chains…

From C-3PO’s polished diplomacy to R2-D2’s battlefield heroics, robots have long captured our imagination. Today, what was once confined to science fiction is inching toward industrial reality. General-purpose robots, powered by increasingly capable embodied AI, are being tested in warehouses, factories, hospitals, and fields. And unlike previous generations of robots, they’re not just performing a single preprogrammed task but adapting to dynamic environments, learning new motions, and even following verbal…

The time has come to reconsider the principles that guide operating model redesign. In some ways, these principles have seemed timeless. For decades, leaders have aimed to integrate people, structures, and processes as seamlessly as possible to deliver value and improve organizational health. But now these rules must evolve to address the current pace of change and disruption. These days, how to organize for value is an even trickier undertaking.…

Many organizations use public cloud technology to reduce costs and improve business agility, innovation, and resilience. Gen AI is adding even more value to the estimated $3 trillion in EBITDA value from cloud by 2030. However, many organizations are still working to fully realize the benefits of cloud transformations. In many cases, simply transferring existing models (such as waterfall and ticket-based plan-build-run infrastructure) to the cloud can result in limited…

Healthcare organizations’ mission is to help people manage their health, but it’s not an easy goal, given the diversity of patient needs and the complexity of how providers, payers, and healthcare services and technology firms work together. What do healthcare organizations need to do? In the latest episode of the McKinsey on Healthcare podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Patrick Finn, global leader of the Healthcare Practice, discusses how organizations can stand…

With US states creating a variety of insurance rules and regulations, such as those around parental and sick leave, the resulting fragmentation has created significant complexity for some companies. Companies must balance the needs for great customer experiences with advanced compliance and security practices. In this interview, McKinsey partner Ann Carver, co-convener of McKinsey’s Women in Tech conference, talks with Polly Nicholas, chief experience officer (CXO) at Unum, a leading…