| This week, we’re bringing you a sampling of McKinsey’s best expert interviews from 2020. Plus, a global survey reveals how diverse employees are struggling more during COVID-19, and senior partner Mary Meaney talks about hardwiring behavior changes in an organization. |
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| Sui generis. McKinsey turned to experts across disciplines for their perspectives on how to think about 2020, a year like no other. Here’s what they shared with us as they endured some undeniably tough trials. |
| A pandemic of loneliness. Vivek H. Murthy, US surgeon general from 2014 to 2017, who is expected to take on a similar role in the Biden administration, has created initiatives to tackle the country’s most urgent public-health issues. “Long before the pandemic hit, I was deeply concerned about loneliness,” Murthy said in a conversation with McKinsey in early May. “I’m worried that loneliness could deepen further, that we could see the physical distancing that we’re asked to observe translate into social distancing as we feel more and more disconnected from the people we need in our lives.” In his interview, Murthy expanded on his concerns about a “social recession,” with profound consequences for health, productivity, and how children perform in school. |
| ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’ Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, hospitals have been bracing for the worst. Kate Walsh, the CEO of Boston Medical Center, was in the first wave of the response. “I’ve been working in healthcare for 40 years,” Walsh told McKinsey in late April. “When I say I’ve never seen anything like this, I really mean it.” As urban centers in the United States have borne the brunt so far, the leaders of these healthcare systems offer a valuable vantage point for the extreme measures required to respond effectively. |
| The virus as boss. Austan Goolsbee, the former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration and now a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, shared his thoughts about the impact of COVID-19 on the US economy, how the pandemic has exposed political weaknesses, and how the United States can best restart its economic engines. He counseled US policy makers to prioritize public health and continue providing government sustenance until the pandemic is under control and the economy can safely reopen. “The countries that prioritized health not only had better health outcomes, they had better economic outcomes too.” |
| Don’t waste the insights. Rajnish Kumar, chairman of the State Bank of India, the nation’s largest bank, talked with McKinsey about COVID-19 as an inflection point, digital transformation, and the future of work in financial services. In addition to helping maintain the stability of India’s banking system and strengthening the state bank’s own digital capabilities, Kumar is dealing with issues of personal leadership that will resonate with many global leaders, including how to avoid “losing your cool in such circumstances” and living the idea that “whatever we learn through this process, it must not go to waste.” |
| ‘You have to start with data.’ James Mattis, a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and former US defense secretary, knows a thing or two about leading in a crisis. He emphasized to McKinsey how crucial it is to continue to have “honest and calm reason-based thinking, with very deliberate consultations and assessments across the organization.” General Mattis added, “Good feedback loops and data displays are critical. You have to start with data. As more data comes in, you replace assumptions with knowledge. Then you need to apply your judgment.” |
| ‘Boy, that’s cool. That could be amazing.’ We end on a high note, with Jennifer Doudna, PhD, the co-discoverer of CRISPR-Cas9, a technique that can alter the DNA of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Just a few months after her wide-ranging interview with Michael Chui of the McKinsey Global Institute, Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work. The pair discussed what being able to change the DNA sequence in a targeted way means for disease—including the COVID-19 pandemic—and how to ensure that genome editing is undertaken responsibly. She also told us about her “aha moment” in the lab. |
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| MORE ON MCKINSEY.COM |
| When do you need a chief restructuring officer? | Amid ongoing global disruption, executives and board directors may increasingly face restructuring situations. A CRO brings a specialist mindset that can help see the organization through a period of extreme crisis. |
| Global business services: a gold mine of information | As companies navigate the COVID-19 reset, global-business-services organizations can deploy advanced analytics to equip leaders with the information needed for better, faster decision making. |
| The board’s role in embedding corporate purpose | A large spotlight is shining on corporate actions these days, and all stakeholders have growing expectations. A board’s involvement in defining purpose helps meet those expectations. Here are five actions directors can take today. |
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| THREE QUESTIONS FOR |
| Mary Meaney |
| Mary Meaney, a senior partner based in Paris and the co-leader of McKinsey’s Organization Practice, works with a broad range of clients in all sectors on performance and organizational health issues. She recently spoke with CNBC about reimagining organizations as part of a knowledge partnership.
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| What has the COVID-19 crisis taught organizations at a fundamental level? |
| Given the acceleration of digital during the pandemic, companies have had to operate at a pace unimaginable beforehand. Now leaders want to understand how they can hardwire these behavior changes into the organization so that they remain strong in the years ahead. A lifelong approach to learning will be an important factor to success. For example, technology skills are becoming obsolete faster because of the pace of digitization, so in order for organizations—and their talent—to thrive, they must remain curious; have a learning mindset; and have an ability to reskill, renew, and innovate.
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| What should organizations that want to reimagine the way they do business ask themselves? |
| Even before the pandemic, there were many megatrends—such as digital, automation, an increasing focus on purpose, and changing consumer expectations—that were affecting global companies. The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated those trends. We’ve been looking at the three questions organizations that want to succeed over time must answer. First, on the simplest level, who are we? Organizations need to identify their purpose, understand how they create value, and develop a unique, purpose-driven culture. The second question: How do we operate? Companies that are more agile, have a flatter structure, make decisions faster, and put their talent into critical roles are poised to thrive. And the third: How do we grow? Organizations that have resilient ecosystems, the right technology and data platforms, and a learning mindset are far more likely to succeed and thrive over time. |
| In the CNBC segment, you said that having a “resonant purpose” has never been more important when it comes to motivating talent and driving deep change. Why has purpose become a critical priority for leaders? |
| Before the COVID-19 crisis, 82 percent of US employees said it was important for organizations to have a compelling purpose—but only 42 percent said their company’s stated purpose had much effect. This year, as leaders have navigated the pandemic, they’ve realized they’re responsible for more than just shareholder value. Belonging matters, and we are all interconnected in ways we couldn’t have imagined before COVID-19. |
| Leaders have also seen how their teams have shown up during the crisis to accomplish incredible things, and they won’t soon forget that impact. So I think the bar on purpose is only getting higher, but purpose has to go far beyond nice statements on posters in the office. Employees are really looking at how organizations operate to deliver on those commitments—and the choices and decisions their leaders make. |
| Download our 200-page collection, “Reimagining the postpandemic organization,” which accompanies our multimedia series with CNBC. |
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| PARTING THOUGHT |
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| — Edited by Barbara Tierney |
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| BACKTALK |
| Have feedback or other ideas? We’d love to hear from you. |
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