Browse our lasting insights on important topics in strategy and corporate finance, from resource allocation to transactions, digital strategy, and more
Activist investors
Like it or not, hedge-fund activism is now a feature of the corporate landscape. This collection details how executives and board members can work with—rather than against—activists to improve performance.
Interview
What CEOs can learn from activist investors
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Leaders don’t have to think of activist investors as the enemy. In this exclusive look at McKinsey’s internal video series, global managing director Dominic Barton and principal Tim Koller discuss what activism means for CEOs.
Business strategy
Radical cost innovations and rapid changes in technology are shifting value like never before. This collection details how to develop and deliver highly-calibrated, data-driven strategies that beat the market in the midst of disruption.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Digital Strategy
How do you make sense of digital disruption? This collection makes the case for digital reinvention and provides guidance on developing strategies in a digitally disrupted world.
Article
The case for digital reinvention
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Digital technology, despite its seeming ubiquity, has only begun to penetrate industries. As it continues its advance, the implications for revenues, profits, and opportunities will be dramatic.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
An incumbent’s guide to digital disruption
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Incumbents needn’t be victims of disruption if they recognize the crucial thresholds in their life cycle, and act in time.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
The economic essentials of digital strategy
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A supply-and-demand guide to digital disruption.
External Affairs

We live in an age of transparency where successful companies understand that reputation is no longer about spin; it’s who you really are. This 3-article collection is for executives seeking to manage risk and unlock value by engaging effectively with governments, regulators, and other external stakeholders.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Growth and Innovation
Moderated growth has made it more important for companies to take a granular approach when deciding where and how to compete. This 4-article collection will help executives develop a detailed perspective on growth and a systematic approach to delivering innovation.

Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Resource Allocation
Winning strategies need to be backed by resources in order to succeed. This collection makes the case for dynamic reallocation of resources within companies and explains how managers can overcome the inevitable challenges.
Breaking down the barriers to corporate resource allocation
Most companies do far too little resource reallocation. In this video, McKinsey directors Stephen Hall and Conor Kehoe explain why, and urge executives to do more.
The Role of the CFO
The CFO role continues to expand to include more non-financial demands. This collection investigates how CFOs can build the new skills they need for the future of the finance function.
Article
Why CFOs need a bigger role in business transformations
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CFO involvement can lead to better outcomes for organization-wide performance improvements.
Survey
Are today’s CFOs ready for tomorrow’s demands on finance?
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Survey results show that as their role expands to include ever more nonfinancial demands, CFOs know they must build new skills...
Interview
Profiling the modern CFO: A panel discussion
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Seasoned finance chiefs explore revamping business models and coping with new competitors, currency risks, and changing capital...
Article
Building a better partnership between finance and strategy
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The growing strategic role of CFOs may create tension with top strategists. That’s a missed opportunity for teaming up...
Trends and global forces

Powerful global forces are reshaping the context in which leaders set strategy. This collection shines a spotlight on the extraordinary opportunities available to those who can convert complexity into opportunity by rethinking their strategies in the context of these forces.
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
The global forces inspiring a new narrative of progress
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Growth is shifting, disruption is accelerating, and societal tensions are rising. Confronting these dynamics will help you craft...
Survey
Geostrategic risks on the rise
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In a new survey on globalization, the share of executives identifying geopolitical instability as a very important business trend...
Book Excerpt - MGI Research
The four global forces breaking all the trends
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The world economy’s operating system is being rewritten. In this exclusive excerpt from the new book No Ordinary Disruption,...
Transactions
Even the most experienced corporate leaders face challenges when evaluating and executing complex deals. This collection focuses on building sustained growth and getting greater value through mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.

Article
Making sense of Chinese outbound M&A
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Misperceptions of Chinese deal making can undermine otherwise good deals. Here’s a closer look behind persistent myths.
Article
The artful synergist, or how to get more value from mergers and acquisitions
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Keeping your deal team small ensures confidentiality, but pinpointing synergies requires bringing more people on board. Here’s...
Interview
Strategic portfolio management: Divesting with a purpose
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Tying portfolio decisions to a company’s distinctive capabilities can help identify which businesses to divest.
Article
Negotiating a better joint venture
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As important as it is to secure the right terms for a shared enterprise, it is just as critical to form a sustainable relationship....
Survey
How M&A practitioners enable their success
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Companies that are best at transactions approach M&A differently—but there’s room for improvement across the...