Shows / The McKinsey Podcast
The McKinsey Podcast
The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.
Episodes
- The McKinsey Podcast
The algorithm isn’t the advantage–the team is
Credit and financial-services organizations are using AI to reshape their offerings and interactions with consumers. But as Will Lansing, CEO of FICO…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What trends are influencing the food and beverage industry?
For decades, food and beverage companies could count on population growth and geographic expansion to create results. That engine has sputtered out, and…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Place, purpose, and the path to economic mobility
What does a better life actually look like to Americans? The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility surveyed 30,000 of them and found that, despite…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The playbook for seeing around geopolitical corners
Geopolitical surprise has become a permanent cost of doing business—and a one-size-fits-all approach to scenario planning can’t keep pace with it…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The hidden value of physical AI
Nearly half of all paid work hours are tied to physical tasks, from moving and making things to inspecting equipment and transporting goods. Today, much of…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Democratized superintelligence is coming: The world needs to get ready
What happens when AI agents can reason through problems well enough to complete real work on their own? This episode of The McKinsey Podcast offers answers to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Why transformations stall—and where only CEOs make the difference
The toughest transformation problems aren’t always strategic or operational. They’re human: the instinct to play it safe, protect what’s…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Is progress behind us, or is ‘plenty’ still possible?
Over the past 100 years, humanity has made stunning advances: longer lives, higher incomes, and billions of people lifted out of poverty. Much of that progress…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Made in America, again? Rethinking US manufacturing resilience
Geopolitical fragmentation, the rise of AI, and growing concern about supply chain resilience are putting US manufacturing back in the spotlight. But…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Consumers don’t trust AI advice. They turn to it anyway.
Shoppers are awash in product recommendations. But do they trust them? “We found significant skepticism around algorithm-driven channels like social…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Earning and sustaining trust in the age of AI
As artificial intelligence reshapes what investors expect from their advisors, asset managers are being pressed to move faster without eroding the trust that…
- The McKinsey Podcast
How premium leisure travel is rewriting airline economics
Window or aisle? These days, if you’re at the front of the plane, you don’t have to choose: “Everything is about having direct aisle access…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Are you settling for a “B+" life?
Do you feel stuck in the career you have? Suzy Welch, an NYU professor and author of Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The new advantage in the age of AI: Building in the real world
The next era of value creation may be defined less by digital innovation alone and more by the ability to build, operate, and scale physical assets. On this…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The human advantage in an AI economy
Could AI transformation be exhausting humans rather than optimizing their performance? As artificial intelligence transforms how we work, organizations face a…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What the 2026 World Cup reveals about the next generation of sports fans
As sports become an even bigger engine of economic growth, the defining challenge isn’t identifying tomorrow’s fans; it’s recognizing that…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The real AI advantage
The first wave of AI adoption has been all about efficiency gains. But what happens when everyone else, using the same tools, is experiencing the same…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The serial builder advantage: Why repeat innovators win
In an era of economic uncertainty and accelerating technological disruption, creating new businesses has become less of a growth option and more of a strategic…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What it takes to become—and remain—an effective CEO
Long before someone takes the corner office, they need to build the skills and rapport that will help them thrive once they move in. That CEO journey is the…
- The McKinsey Podcast
AI is turning every company into a software company
As AI capabilities accelerate, nearly anyone can create software. The real business constraint is no longer code, but judgment: how quickly an organization can…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The world is changing. Can fashion keep up?
Affordable luxury: It may sound like an oxymoron, but in an uncertain economy, it’s striking a chord with cautious consumers looking for value—and…
- The McKinsey Podcast
How CEOs can navigate the new era of trade
Tariff tumult. Shifting geopolitical alliances. AI acceleration. Structural shifts are reshaping global trade. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Move first or fall behind: How AI is rewriting the rules of banking
McKinsey’s latest research on global banking demonstrates that artificial intelligence isn’t just another efficiency play for financial…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The next era of healthcare is personal
For more than a century, medicine has largely followed a one-size-fits-all model—but that paradigm is beginning to break. On this episode of The McKinsey…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Sell, close, or continue? The transfer of US businesses is at a crossroads
A historic wave of ownership transitions is set to reshape the backbone of the US economy. The fate of jobs, local spending, and wealth creation all hinge on…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Rewiring for AI: From ambition to advantage
As generative and agentic AI reshape how work gets done, the real divide isn’t who has the best ideas—it’s who can turn them into real…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The rise of the human–AI workforce
Most leaders herald the promise of AI, but many employees see it as a looming threat—a modern echo of Annie Oakley’s classic lines: “Anything…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What great leaders know about not knowing it all
People often expect their leaders to have all the answers; David Novak built his career by challenging that assumption. On this episode of The McKinsey…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Follow the money: How FDI is redrawing the global economy
Foreign direct investment (FDI) used to sit in the background—important, but distant from day-to-day strategy. That’s no longer true. Today…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Can the US sustain its competitive edge?
The US has had a phenomenal run of success: at 250 years old, it’s home to the world’s most competitive economy, accounting for more than a quarter…
- The McKinsey Podcast
AI is everywhere. The agentic organization isn’t—yet
Yes, AI is astonishing: fast, powerful, and learning every day. But even as leaders strike up new pilots across their organizations, most still struggle to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Leadership lessons from private equity CEOs
Companies backed by private equity (PE) tend to transform faster and more often than public or family-owned firms do, leading to consistently outperforming…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Trust in the age of agents
Many leaders can get agentic pilots rolling—but realizing ROI can mean activating thousands of AI agents enterprise-wide. Is your organization ready?…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What does it take to achieve and sustain growth?
McKinsey research has found that while many leaders believe they’ve adopted and implemented productive mindsets for growth, those attitudes and ambitions…
- The McKinsey Podcast
A new way of thinking about metabolic health
On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Lars Hartenstein, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute, and Roberta Fusaro, an editorial director at…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Special episode: 2026 Davos highlights
This is a special episode of The McKinsey Podcast covering last week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. McKinsey Senior Partners Becca…
- The McKinsey Podcast
How the best CEOs are meeting the AI moment
AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? “This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we’ve…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Special episode: McKinsey at CES 2026
McKinsey’s Bill Wiseman, Bob Sternfels, Martin Kellner, and Steffen Fuchs were on the ground at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The future of work is agentic
Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Don’t get stuck in a rut—update how you operate
People are asked to update the operating systems on their phones all the time. What if leaders applied that same kind of polishing and bug fixing to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What's next for global banking?
Banking has had a couple of very good years—the best, in fact, since the global financial crisis of 2007–09. Yet to some, the industry’s…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Quantum computing: Game on
Quantum computing has long been technology’s white whale. But in recent months, new developments suggest practical applications for this elusive…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The fashion industry faces a world in flux
One thing is clear for the fashion industry in 2025. Due to climate change, global trade uncertainties, and consumers focused on value, growth is expected to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The industries reshaping our global economy
“A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Data centers: The race to power AI
Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers—and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Gen AI is here—but where are its users?
Gen AI is evolving fast—but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we feature an episode of our…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Which tech trends are rising to the top of the business agenda?
Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Building leaders from the ground up
CEOs are confronting double the number of critical issues today compared with ten years ago. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partners…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Rewinding 2025: A year of The McKinsey Podcast insights—in under 10 minutes
This year on The McKinsey Podcast, we’ve dived into an array of topics on leadership, organizational change, and technological innovation, talking to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
How agentic AI could transform travel
Yes, dreaming up your next getaway can be exhilarating. But booking it? Often less so. For many customers, the thrill of travel risks getting lost in…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Productivity first: AI and the COO agenda
From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On…
- The McKinsey Podcast
A more accurate way to measure consumer engagement
Not all consumer attention is created equal—that’s a critical lesson from McKinsey’s recent report on content creation and monetization. On…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Remanufacturing: Turning old parts into new opportunities
What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What sets the world’s best leaders apart
Most leaders set out to be the best—but few make that Mount Everest–like ascent successfully. What do the world’s most iconic CEOs do…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The promise and potential of rural America
There is no single definition of “rural America.” It comprises agricultural hubs, manufacturing centers, and fast-growing regions—each a…
- The McKinsey Podcast
The changing role of the CMO—and what it means for growth
Chief marketing officers are vital to strategic decision-making, but increasingly, they’re being left out of the discussions that matter most—to…
- The McKinsey Podcast
A conversation about valuation
Don’t lose sight of the long term. It’s a core message from the eighth edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies…
- The McKinsey Podcast
What the latest trends in sporting goods mean for brands
Pickleball, padel—yes, they’re hot. Nevertheless, a third of the world’s adults are inactive—and among youth, inactivity is even more…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Tariffs and trade: Preparing for the unpredictable
As geopolitical tensions persist, global trade dynamics are becoming increasingly complex—and many leaders find themselves on tenterhooks. On this…
- The McKinsey Podcast
Confronting the affordable-housing crisis
The US housing crunch is bad—and it’s getting worse. Wider access to safe, affordable homes is vital to enabling economic mobility for all…