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Dissecting global trends: An example from Italy

March 2008

Executives should examine the impact of trends on subindustries, segments, categories, and micromarkets before placing their bets.

Featured Strategy, Growth Article, winning m&a
Running a winning M&A shop

March 2008

Picking up the pace of M&A requires big changes in a company’s processes and organization—even if the deals are smaller.

Featured Strategy, Growth Article, 2007 M&A
Premium Content
Deal making in 2007: Is the M&A boom over?

December 2007

Reports of the demise of the M&A boom may be greatly exaggerated. But to keep it going, companies must work even harder to ensure that deals create value.

The Archive

2007
When to break up a conglomerate: An interview with Tyco International’s CFO Premium Content

October 2007

Chris Coughlin explains how spinning off some of the company’s largest businesses was the key to ensuring its long-term growth.

Preempting hostile takeovers Premium Content

July 2007

Companies that stick to valuation basics can capture any value that would make them attractive for takeover bids.

The granularity of growth

May 2007

A fine-grained approach to growth is essential for making the right choices about where to compete.

Acting on global trends: A McKinsey Global Survey Premium Content

April 2007

Executives see opportunities as well as risks in the global business landscape, yet many are not addressing them.

The elusive goal of corporate outperformance Premium Content

April 2007

Few large global companies outperform their competitors on both revenue growth and profitability over a decade. Do those that do have anything else in common?

The new dynamics of managing the corporate portfolio Premium Content

April 2007

As investors demand that companies actively manage their business portfolios, executives must increasingly balance investment opportunities against the capital that's available to finance them.

2006
Are companies getting better at M&A? Premium Content

December 2006

The latest boom in merger activity appears to be creating more value for the shareholders of the acquiring companies.

A grassroots approach to emerging-market consumers

November 2006

By tapping into local networks, companies can serve low-income markets profitably, delivering significant value to shareholders while creating the essential market infrastructure for economic development in the neediest communities.

Habits of the busiest acquirers Premium Content

July 2006

M&A executives at the most successful US companies understand not only how acquisitions create value but also how to enlist the support of the organization.

Balancing ROIC and growth to build value Premium Content

March 2006

Companies find growth enticing, but a strong return on invested capital is more sustainable.

Making China your second home market: An interview with the CEO of Danfoss

February 2006

The head of the Danish industrial-controls company wants to make China one of its core markets.

2005
Beating the odds in market entry Premium Content

November 2005

How to avoid the cognitive biases that undermine market entry decisions.

The do-or-die struggle for growth

August 2005

The largest corporations rarely sustain strong growth unless they compete in the right places at the right times.

What global executives think about technology and innovation Premium Content

August 2005

A survey uncovers shared perspectives on the challenges now facing companies, but IT execs must still sell tech innovation to business leaders.

Seeing the elephant whole

May 2005

Partial perspectives may be true in themselves, but you must combine them to see the world as it really is.

What global executives think about growth and risk Premium Content

May 2005

As the quickening pace of globalization creates both new markets and new competitors, hopes contend with fears.

How to escape the short-term trap Premium Content

April 2005

Markets may expect solid performance over the short term, but they also value sustained performance over the long term. How can companies manage both time frames?

Balancing short- and long-term performance Premium Content

February 2005

The benefits are many for corporations that can walk this tightrope.

2004
The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives , November 2004 Premium Content

November 2004

The confidence of executives around the world has fallen during the past year, and they are dubious about the prospects for trade liberalization in a second Bush administration.

Learning to grow again

February 2004

Companies should ask three critical questions as they shift from cost-cutting to expansion mode.

2003
Running with risk

November 2003

It’s good to take risks—if you manage them well.

Managing for improved corporate performance Premium Content

August 2003

Generating great performance requires a more dynamic approach to building and adapting a company’s capabilities than merely squeezing its operations.

2002
Rebuilding business building Premium Content

June 2002

The new generation of corporate venturers might still be wet behind the ears, but they have shown that they can catalyze growth in the organization as a whole.

2001
Why mergers fail

November 2001

Is the belief that mergers drive revenue growth a delusion?

Creative destruction Premium Content

August 2001

How can corporations make themselves more like the market? An excerpt from the best-selling book.

How fast is too fast?

August 2001

Speed in building a business is sometimes advisable, even necessary. But more often than not, it kills.

1999
Dialog: Can a company ever be too big? Premium Content

November 1999

Some people believe that "it is different this time." Others don't.

1997
The growth philosophy of Bombardier Premium Content

May 1997

An interview with Laurent Beaudoin, chairman and CEO, Bombardier Inc.

1996
Staircases to growth Premium Content

November 1996

With revenue increases of 25 percent a year, how do the world’s best growth companies do it? A few steps at a time, each bringing options and new capabilities. No formulas, just astute bundling of competences, skills, assets, and relationships.

Beating high fail in high-tech Premium Content

May 1996

Diversification into high-tech: focus on market value. External milestones remove commercial uncertainties. Marry your technology resources to the market knowledge of current players.

Growth through acquisitions: A fresh look Premium Content

May 1996

LBOs outbid corporate buyers and then produce extraordinary returns. How do they do it? A study of over 800 acquisitions shatters some myths about the value of timing and leverage. Don’t do the deal if you can’t find the leader.

Managing growth options Premium Content

May 1996

Digital technology, telephone deregulation, and home computing are opening up the possibility of exciting growth prospects in pay-TV, cable and wireless telephony, and network-based services. Yet investing in them is risky, since potential losses could be substantial.

Growing in the food industry Premium Content

February 1996

For much of the 1980s, food and packaged goods companies could do no wrong. More recently, however, industry performance has come crashing back to earth.

Keys to profitable growth Premium Content

February 1996

Why do so many growth strategies fail to realize their aspirations, yielding either far less growth than expected or growth that generates no profits? McKinsey highlights two requirements for profitable growth.

1995
The paradox of fast growth tigers Premium Content

August 1995

Forty-one companies with sustained growth of over 20 percent. To understand them, forget diminishing returns and classical economics. Reinforcing loops and growth cycles.

Is your growth strategy your worst enemy? Premium Content

May 1995

The brilliance of a strategy may lie in overcoming powerful secondary effects.

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