OUR BEST NEW IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

Welcome to the latest edition of the CEO Shortlist, a biweekly newsletter of our best ideas for the C-suite. This week, we feature our latest research on leadership and the emerging industries that will define dynamic growth in the coming years. We appreciate the opportunity to connect and hope you find our perspectives novel and insightful. Please let us know what you think! You can reach us at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com. Thank you.

—Alex and Axel

Ten years ago, CEOs and top teams typically focused on four or five critical issues at any one point in time. Today, it’s eight or ten. In this fragmented landscape, leading a global organization takes a new kind of focus. Our latest research highlights two important ways CEOs can level up. First, recognize that the personal attributes and best practices of leadership are distinctly different from what they used to be. Second, build a deep bench of talented leaders, using new leadership development approaches to shape, develop, and mentor the next generation of managers. 

Certain industries create more value and have a greater impact than others. We call these outperforming industries arenas of competition. A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute identifies 18 future arenas that could reshape the global economy between now and 2040, including AI software and services, future air mobility, drugs for obesity, and robotics. All told, they could generate up to $6 trillion in profits. These fast-growth industries are also defined by high dynamism, meaning market share within them changes hands to an outsize degree. This spells opportunity for modern, focused leadership teams.

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