Uncovering Cash and Insights from Working Capital
Companies that improve the performance of their working capital can generate cash and see benefits far beyond the finance department.
Content: Article | Authors: David Merin, Ryan Davies | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Finance
The Changing Face of Marketing
This article from the McKinsey Quarterly archive analyzes six major changes that promised to transform future marketing efforts. These forces have largely proved to be as influential as predicted and continue to shape today’s challenges.
Editor’s Note: I enjoy reading old articles like these (1966) to see how they do and do not hold up with the passage of time.
Content: Article | Author: John D. Louth | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Using Big Data to Make Better Pricing Decisions
Harnessing the flood of data available from customer interactions allows companies to price appropriately—and reap the rewards.
Content: Article | Authors: Dieter Kiewell, Georg Winkler, Walter Baker | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Pricing
Wharton’s Adam Grant on the Key to Professional Success
The author of Give and Take explains why generosity in the workplace continues to be more effective than selfishness and why it is critical for personal fulfillment.
Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Adam Grant | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Career, Management, Organizational Behavior
Is Sports Sponsorship Worth It?
Sponsorships have become an integral component of marketing strategy. Yet many companies still do not effectively quantify the impact of these expenditures, even for events requiring significant spending. A systematic commitment to a menu of analytics approaches allows executives to identify sponsorships that create value as well as those that don’t live up to their names.
Content: Article | Authors: Jeff Jacobs, Kushan Surana, Pallav Jain | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Why Leadership-Development Programs Fail
Sidestepping four common mistakes can help companies develop stronger and more capable leaders, save time and money, and boost morale.
Content: Article | Authors: Kevin Lane, Pierre Gurdjian, Thomas Halbeisen | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Human Resources
Why Gender Diversity at the Top Remains a Challenge
McKinsey’s survey of global executives finds that corporate culture and a lack of convinced engagement by male executives are critical problems for women.
Content: Article | Authors: Charlotte Werner, Sandra Sancier-Sultan, Sandrine Devillard | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Women in Business
The Hidden Value of Organizational Health—and How to Capture It
New research suggests that the performance payoff from organizational health is unexpectedly large and that companies have four distinct “recipes” for achieving it.
Content: Article | Authors: Aaron De Smet, Bill Schaninger, Matthew Smith | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior
Ten Tips for Leading Companies Out of Crisis
Even good managers can miss the early signs of distress. The first step is to acknowledge there’s a problem.
Content: Article | Author: Doug Yakola | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Management
Tapping the Power of Hidden Influencers
A tool social scientists use to identify sex workers and drug users can help senior executives find the people most likely to catalyze—or sabotage—organizational-change efforts.
Content: Article | Authors: Emily Sheeren, Leigh M. Weiss, Lili Duan | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Management, Organizational Behavior
The Benefits—and Limits—of Decision Models
Big data and models help overcome biases that cloud judgment, but many executive decisions also require bold action inspired by self-confidence. Here’s how to take charge in a clear-headed way.
Content: Article | Author: Phil Rosenzweig | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Management
Bad to Great: The Path to Scaling Up Excellence
Before senior executives try to spread best practices, they should use seven techniques to clear out the negative behavior that stands in the way.
Content: Article | Authors: Hayagreeva Rao, Robert I. Sutton | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior
Mastering Digital Marketing
The era of the traditional marketing campaign is ending. In this interview, McKinsey’s David Edelman explains what companies get wrong when it comes to digital marketing and the changes needed to better engage consumers.
Content: Multimedia Content | Author: David Edelman | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Avoiding Blind Spots in Your Next Joint Venture
Even joint ventures developed using familiar best practices can fail without cross-process discipline in planning and implementation.
Content: Article | Authors: Eileen Kelly Rinaudo, John Chao, Robert Uhlaner | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Strategy
How B2B Companies Talk Past Their Customers
New research shows there’s a surprising gap between the brand messages that suppliers offer to customers and what their customers really want to know.
Content: Article | Authors: Philipp Hillenbrand, Sascha Lehmann, Tjark Freundt | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Are You Too Focused?
As successful companies mature, they must diversify to survive—and they can dramatically improve their shareholder returns as they do. The only questions are when and how.
Content: Article | Authors: Neil Harper, S. Patrick Viguerie | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Management
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Digital Enterprises
To stay competitive, companies must stop experimenting with digital and commit to transforming themselves into full digital businesses. Here are seven habits that successful digital enterprises share.
Content: Article | Authors: Kate Smaje, Paul Willmott, ’Tunde Olanrewaju | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business
Strategic Principles for Competing in the Digital Age
Digitization is rewriting the rules of competition, with incumbent companies most at risk of being left behind. Here are six critical decisions CEOs must make to address the strategic challenge posed by the digital revolution.
Content: Article | Authors: Martin Hirt, Paul Willmott | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business
Can Strategic Planning Pay Off?
In 1993, when IBM was in trouble and Lou Gerstner stepped in to steer the company, he famously said, “The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.” Twenty years earlier, in a 1973 McKinsey Quarterly article, Gerstner brought this same pragmatic insight to the topic of strategic planning, urging executives to avoid the false comfort of vague forecasts and instead execute well-grounded strategic … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Louis V. Gerstner | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Strategy
Making Better Decisions About the Risks of Capital Projects
A handful of pragmatic tools can help managers decide which projects best fit their portfolio and risk tolerance.
Content: Article | Authors: Anders Rasmussen, Martin Pergler | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Finance, Management, Project Management