The McKinsey Quarterly

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SEPTEMBER 2009

Global capital markets: Entering a new era

A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute highlights the impact of the global financial crisis on global capital flows.

Includes:
SEPTEMBER 2009

The new financial power brokers: Crisis update

Although their paths are diverging, all will remain powerful forces in the global economy.
SEPTEMBER 2009

The crisis—one year on: McKinsey Global Economic Conditions Survey results, September 2009

A year after the global economic system nearly collapsed, many companies are finally finding ways to increase profits under the new conditions. But almost as many expect profits to continue falling, and executives also indicate that their broader financial hopes remain fragile. Many expect more government involvement in economies and industries over the long term.

JUNE 2009

Rebuilding corporate reputations

A perfect storm has hit the standing of big business. Companies must step up their reputation-management efforts in response.
MAY 2009

What next? Ten questions for CFOs

As companies shift their attention from fighting the crisis to getting the most from the recovery, CFOs must keep them focused.
APRIL 2009

The crisis: Timing strategic moves

Timing is key as companies weigh whether to make strategic investments now or wait for clear signs of recovery. Scenario analysis can expose the risks of moving too quickly or slowly.
APRIL 2009

Strategic planning: Three tips for 2009

Even in these tumultuous times, strategic planning doesn’t have to be an exercise in anxiety—or futility.
DECEMBER 2008

Leading through uncertainty

The range of possible futures confronting business is great. Companies that nurture flexibility, awareness, and resiliency are more likely to survive the crisis, and even to prosper.
DECEMBER 2008

Strategy in a ‘structural break’

During hard times, a structural break in the economy is an opportunity in disguise. To survive—and, eventually, to flourish—companies must learn to exploit it.

DECEMBER 2008

Innovation lessons from the 1930s

History suggests that even the deepest downturns can create huge opportunities for companies with money and ideas.
DECEMBER 2008

Financial crisis and reform: Looking back for clues to the future

Changes reaching far beyond the financial sector have followed every major US financial crisis that sparked an economic downturn.

DECEMBER 2009

IT in the new normal: McKinsey Global Survey results

Recession or no recession, corporate and IT leaders continue to see a key role for IT, especially in regard to capturing efficiencies across the enterprise. Many expect IT investments to grow soon.
APRIL 2009

R&D in the downturn: McKinsey Global Survey Results

Despite the economic downturn, many companies are reluctant to cut R&D activities, viewing them as a source of competitive advantage. Companies that gain the greatest benefit from R&D are actually expanding their programs.
MARCH 2009

Cutting sales costs, not revenues

Courageous companies can use the downturn to make their sales operations not only less expensive but also more effective.
FEBRUARY 2009

The crisis: Mobilizing boards for change

To meet the challenges of the economic crisis, corporate boards must change the way they work.
FEBRUARY 2009

Upgrading R&D in a downturn

Cutting research costs across the board in a recession isn’t smart. Companies should use R&D as an opportunity to make themselves more competitive.
SEPTEMBER 2008

How retailers can make the best of a slowdown

Moving quickly to improve performance can help retailers to recover faster.
SEPTEMBER 2008

Pricing in an inflationary downturn

In the current environment, costs are rising as price sensitivity increases. Six tactics can help companies get pricing right.

We need to minimize risk, but we can’t dispense with innovation. The question is how to strike the proper balance. – Jiang Jianqing

MARCH 2009

A Chinese view of governance and the financial crisis: An interview with ICBC’s chairman

Jiang Jianqing discusses the need for balance within an effective governance model and the ways the financial-services industry will change in China in the wake of the global economic crisis.
DECEMBER 2008

A fresh look at strategy under uncertainty: An interview

Although even the highest levels of uncertainty don’t prevent businesses from analyzing predicaments rationally, says author Hugh Courtney, the financial crisis has shown us the limits of our tools—and minds.
DECEMBER 2008

Taking improbable events seriously: An interview with the author of The Black Swan

The author of The Black Swan explains why the rarity and unpredictability of certain events does not make them unimportant.

DECEMBER 2008

The downturn’s new rules for marketers

The old recession playbook won’t work this time around.
DECEMBER 2008

Upgrading talent

A downturn can give smart companies a chance to upgrade their talent.
DECEMBER 2008

Maintaining the customer experience

Stinting on customer service is a common and sometimes costly response to tough economic times. By managing the customer experience more rigorously, companies can maintain quality while still saving money.
DECEMBER 2008

Freeing up cash from operations

As the economy slows, companies should avoid the impulse to batten down their operations indiscriminately. Taking short-term steps and a balanced view of operations can keep cash flows healthy.
DECEMBER 2008

Managing IT spending

Many IT organizations will reduce their spending in 2009. A strong management focus can mitigate the pain—and create opportunities.

DECEMBER 2009

Competing through organizational agility

Three distinct types of agility—strategic, portfolio, and operational—help companies compete. Each of them has its own sources and dangers.
DECEMBER 2009

Dynamic management: Better decisions in uncertain times

Companies can’t predict the future, but they can build organizations that will survive and flourish under just about any possible future.
SEPTEMBER 2009

A CEO’s guide to reenergizing the senior team

In today’s tough and fast-changing environment, CEOs must help their top leaders to work through fear and denial and to learn new rules.
SEPTEMBER 2009

How managers should approach a fragile economy

For the immediate future, business leaders will have to master the disciplines of uncertainty.

Includes:
AUGUST 2009

Leaders in the crisis: McKinsey Global Survey Results

Most executives are coping relatively well with the demands and effects of the economic crisis, but people problems loom on the horizon.
JULY 2009

Leadership lessons for hard times

A series of interviews with 14 CEOs and chairmen of major companies sheds light on the foundations of corporate leadership.

DECEMBER 2009

Navigating the new normal: A conversation with four chief strategy officers

Executives of Boeing, Estée Lauder, Smith International, and Visa discuss setting strategy in the wake of the downturn.

Includes:
JUNE 2009

Government ownership: Why this time it should work

There are good reasons to believe that government intervention today will be far less damaging than past experience would indicate.
JUNE 2009

Setting strategy in the new era: A conversation with Lowell Bryan and Richard Rumelt

In this final installment of a three-part series, Professor Richard Rumelt and McKinsey’s Lowell Bryan reflect on the strategic opportunities emerging as value shifts within and between economic sectors.

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MAY 2009

Good boss, bad times

Management expert Robert Sutton shares lessons on handling layoffs and teams in crisis.

Includes:

JULY 2009

Inside the US stimulus program: Implications for three industries

The US government is beginning to spend vast sums to jump-start the economy. The opportunities for the private sector are huge, but so are the changes it must make to benefit from them.

JULY 2009

The US stimulus program: Investing in energy efficiency

There may be tensions among the current administration’s goals, but nearly $100 billion in new spending on energy-related projects will have a huge impact.
JULY 2009

The US stimulus program: Taking medical records online

EMR is a technology whose time has come. Whether or not it can deliver on its promise, it will change health care profoundly.
JULY 2009

The US stimulus program: Improving broadband access

The United States is behind many rich—and even not-so-rich—countries in broadband Internet access. The Obama administration aims to expand it.

MARCH 2010

What’s next for global banks

Banking giants in emerging markets will probably do well in any likely economic scenario. Other banks face a more challenging future.

Includes:
JUNE 2009

Learning from financial regulation’s mistakes

Current bank oversight failed to prevent the financial crisis. Let’s not prescribe more of the same.
JUNE 2009

What’s next for US banks

Two different kinds of accounting—fair value and hold to maturity—have created two different kinds of crises. One is almost over. The other is only beginning.
APRIL 2009

The future of private equity

These funds face a credit-constrained world; they must adapt to thrive.
FEBRUARY 2009

A better way to fix the banks

Here’s a plan that could solve the toxic-asset pricing problem voluntarily—without requiring Uncle Sam to nationalize the whole industry—and make (pretty much) everyone a winner.
FEBRUARY 2009

The CFO’s role in navigating the downturn

Companies—and their CFOs—may have to adapt more radically to the downturn than they now expect.

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JANUARY 2009

What’s different about M&A in this downturn

M&A may be more resilient in this downturn than in previous ones, but it will be a different kind of M&A.
JANUARY 2009

Mapping decline and recovery across sectors

Different sectors enter and emerge from downturns at different times. A look at past recessions suggests how some industries may fare.

Includes:
DECEMBER 2008

Financial crises, past and present

Past financial crises had very different effects on the real economy. Although the lessons of the past don't give much cause for optimism, they do provide hints on how companies should prepare this time around.

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DECEMBER 2008

Why the crisis hasn’t shaken the cost of capital

The cost of capital hasn’t increased so far in the downturn—and didn’t in past recessions.

APRIL 2009

Surveying the economic horizon: A conversation with Robert Shiller

The noted economist explains and explores the downturn’s root causes—and possible ways forward.

Includes:
MARCH 2009

The economic impact of increased US savings

US consumers are spending less and saving more. The economic impact of that combination will depend upon how fast incomes grow.
MARCH 2009

The new normal

The business landscape has changed fundamentally; tomorrow’s environment will be different, but no less rich in possibilities for those who are prepared.

DECEMBER 2008

Creative destruction and the financial crisis: An interview with Richard Foster

A coauthor of Creative Destruction explains how the business world—and the capitalist system—will change in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
DECEMBER 2008

Banking on carbon assets

A new regulatory environment for greenhouse gas emissions could hold good news for banks.
DECEMBER 2008

Industry trends in the downturn: A snapshot

In times of great uncertainty, an understanding of long-term industry trends can help executives plot robust strategies. This roundup highlights structural issues likely to influence the future performance of four industries: steel, technology, chemicals, and consumer goods.

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