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Transformation

Editors’ Choice

Interviews

Companies need to be really thoughtful about focusing on the right investors. It’s not helpful to put out a bunch of metrics to placate investors focused on the short term.  –  Christopher Lafond

Measuring Innovation

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.

Economic Studies

  • Economic Studies, Country Reports, Why baby boomers will need to work longer

    NOVEMBER 2008

    Why baby boomers will need to work longer

    Most US baby boomers are not prepared for their retirement, and neither are the US and world economies. Boomers can help mitigate the consequences by remaining in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age.

Conversation Starter

The Long Tail and Power Curves

Chris Anderson, the author of The Long Tail, takes up recent discussions of Long Tail theory in two McKinsey Quarterly articles. "Powerlaws may indeed create bigger fish, but the Long Tail is all about the bigger pond." Read Chris's blog post, then read the article and watch the interview to which he refers.

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Financial Crisis -- From the archive

The size and complexity of the current crisis are challenging companies to plan in an environment of unprecedented uncertainty. These insights, developed over time, can help companies understand how to respond.

  • Strategy, Strategic Thinking, recession

    JUNE 2002

    Learning to love recessions

    Most companies battened down the hatches during the recession of the early ‘90s. But the more successful competitors pressed their advantages.

  • Strategy, Strategic Thinking, formulate strategic plans

    JUNE 2000

    Strategy under uncertainty

    The traditional approach to strategy requires precise predictions and thus often leads executives to underestimate uncertainty. This can be downright dangerous. A four-level framework can help.

  • Financial Services, Banking, credit derivatives

    NOVEMBER 2004

    The real risks of credit derivatives

    Good risk management is crucial for companies in this opaque market.

Data Points

  • 50%

    Amount by which the Baby Boomers' debt-to-net-worth ratio exceeds that of the previous generation.

  • < 1/3

    Share of executives who agree that they can improve their company's overall innovation by using innovation metrics.

  • $170

    Billions of dollars necessary to invest between now and 2020 to cut in half the projected growth in global energy demand.