Forward Thinking

Latest Episodes:

Forward Thinking on pandemic paradoxes, labor market myths, and ‘cowboy capitalism’ with David Autor Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, Michael Chui talks with David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Autor talks about the paradoxes created for labor markets by the pandemic, the effect of trade globalization, the rise of China as a world economic power, and the economic impact of automation. He answers questions including:
● How have labor markets changed as the result of the pandemic, and how might they evolve?
● How has the globalization of trade affected the US labor market?
● What could have been done, and should be done now, to mitigate localized negative effects of trade shocks?
● Does ‘cowboy capitalism’ give us higher growth?
● What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned during the pandemic?

This conversation was recorded in February 2022. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/DavidAutor

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Forward Thinking on the social contract in a postpandemic world with Minouche Shafik and Andrew Sheng Feb 02, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, guest interviewer Jonathan Woetzel talks with two leading economists spanning Europe and Asia. Baroness Minouche Shafik is director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Andrew Sheng is distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong. The conversation centers on the state of the social contract that underpins society. They answer questions including:
● What is the social contract, and why do we need one?
● Is the social contract broken, and do we need a new one?
● How does the social contract extend into issues of sustainability, and, if so, is this an opportunity to reimagine that contract?
● Has the pandemic brought us closer to a different kind of social contract?

This conversation was recorded in December 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/ShafikSheng

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Forward Thinking on the transformative role of intangible assets in companies and economies with Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake Jan 12, 2022

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks with Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake. Jonathan Haskel is professor of economics at Imperial College Business School at Imperial College London and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. Stian Westlake is chief executive of the Royal Statistical Society in the United Kingdom. Haskel and Westlake talk about their pioneering work on intangible assets: how to define them to reflect their growing role in companies and economies, the benefits and risks, and how to enable a smoother transition to a dematerialized economy with such assets at its core. They answer questions including the following:
● So we really are now in the knowledge and know-how economy. Is this a new era for capitalism?
● Are intangibles good for us?
● How do you tell whether investment in intangibles is smart or dumb?
● Are intangibles a recipe for inequality?
● What needs to be fixed to ease the transition to the intangibles economy?

This conversation was recorded in December 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/HaskelWestlake

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Forward Thinking on globalization and the evolving role of corporate leadership in the 21st century with Matthew Slaughter Dec 15, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Michael Chui talks with Matthew J. Slaughter, Paul Danos Dean and Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Slaughter takes the temperature of globalization, discussing ways of tackling distributional challenges and ensuring it works for ordinary families. He also reflects on the evolving demands on leaders of corporations in the 21st century, positing that those who recognize their wider purpose in society tend to outperform on productivity growth and profits. He answers questions including the following:
● At a time of great challenge in terms of globalization, what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and what have we learned?
● What can be done to achieve the benefits of globalization while making sure distributional challenges are addressed?
● How have the demands placed on leaders in the 21st century changed?
● In late 2021, there is a lot of discussion about supply chain issues. What is going on here and what is going to happen?

This conversation was recorded in November 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/MattSlaughter

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Forward Thinking on the enduring power of engineering in a digitizing world with Hayaatun Sillem Dec 01, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush talks with Hayaatun Sillem. She is the chief executive officer of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom—the first woman to serve in that role—and of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. She also serves as chair of judges for The St Andrews Prize for the Environment.

Sillem discusses her transition from a career as a biochemist into the world of engineering, and the work she does to promote the industry to girls and women as well as individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds. On the latter, she collaborated with seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton on a landmark study on diversity in motor sport. She answers questions including the following:
— What excites you most in the world of science at the moment?
— How does engineering fit into a dematerialized world?
— How do we change the low share of girls and women who study engineering?
— Do you feel optimistic or pessimistic that we can solve the environmental challenges facing us?

This conversation was recorded in November 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/Sillem

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Forward Thinking on making labor markets work smarter—for people and companies—with Beth Cobert and Byron Auguste Nov 17, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, Michael Chui talks to Byron Auguste and Beth Cobert whose professional life is dedicated to fostering a more skills-based labor market. Their focus is on the United States, but their diagnostic can just as easily apply to other countries and regions. Both worked at McKinsey & Company for many years on labor-market issues before going on to work in the Obama administration. Today, Beth is the chief operating officer of the Markle Foundation and CEO of Skillful, a Markle Foundation initiative. Byron Auguste is the co-founder and CEO of Opportunity@Work. They answer questions including the following:
— Who is actually working in the US labor market?
— How does the language we use—“low skill”, “high skill”—cause problems?
— What could a potential future of more of a skills-based workforce look like?
— If employers and people want a skills-based workforce, why aren’t we there already?
— Do we all have to wait until there’s some global skills taxonomy we all use? How does this thing evolve so that it actually becomes practical?

This conversation was recorded in October 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/BethCobertByronAuguste

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Forward Thinking on pandemic preparedness, climate risk, and Europe’s recovery with Guntram Wolff Oct 20, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush speaks with Guntram Wolff, the director of Bruegel, which is regularly ranked one of the top global think tanks. In early 2021, he was appointed to a new G-20 panel on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Wolff discusses the challenge of being better prepared for future pandemics, climate risk in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, and prospects for Europe’s economies as they begin to recover from the shock of the pandemic. He answers questions including the following:
— With your economist’s hat on, if you had to choose, what would be the one insight you would take away from the pandemic?
— What is the aim of the High Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response?
— Is the balance of incentives tipping in the right direction for an effective response to climate change?
— Is Europe in good shape to recover from the pandemic?
— How could the tapering of pandemic-related economic support work with the very large economic imbalances between Northern and Southern Europe?

This conversation was recorded in September 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/GuntramWolff

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Forward Thinking on economies beyond COVID-19 with Michael Spence Oct 06, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Janet Bush speaks with distinguished economist Michael Spence. He is professor of economics and dean emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, senior professor at SDA Bocconi, and Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences, 2001.

Spence reflects on some of the major shifts and challenges ahead, from rolling out vaccine programs in lower-income economies to tackling climate change. He answers questions like:
● Is the current fragility in supply chains a sign that something more fundamental is happening that could affect the course of globalization?
● Will new ways of working that emerged during the pandemic persist and, if so, what are the broader economic implications?
● Are you even more worried about rising inequality now than before the pandemic?
● Are you optimistic or pessimistic about COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference?
● Can you see a silver lining to this pandemic?

This conversation was recorded in September 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/MichaelSpence

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From fighter pilot to robotics pioneer: An interview with Missy Cummings Sep 22, 2021

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In this episode of the McKinsey Global Institute’s Forward Thinking podcast, co-host Michael Chui speaks with Mary “Missy” Cummings, one of the first female fighter pilots in the US Navy and now a professor in the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, as well as the director of Duke’s Humans and Autonomy Laboratory. Cummings talks about her life as a fighter pilot and her journey into automation and robotics. She also answers questions like:
• What are your reflections on diversity across different fields?
• What are some interesting developments you’re seeing in the automation of vehicles?
• Are there things that car designers should be learning from the aerospace industry, or vice versa, as they’re starting to implement more levels of automated technology and driver assistance?
• What is the perfect use case for automation?
• What excites you most about advances in technology?

This conversation was recorded in August 2021. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/missycummings

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[Introducing] Inside the strategy room: A conversation with Brian Chesky of Airbnb on the 21st century corporation Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

We’d like to share a special interview from our friends at McKinsey’s Inside the Strategy Room podcast. In this episode, you’ll hear Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, in discussion with McKinsey Global Institute co-chairman James Manikya. The theme of their conversation centered around how to build companies capable of thriving in the 21st century.

In particular, they address the major crisis AirBnB navigated in 2020 when the online marketplace went from having its long-term survival questioned to staging a successful IPO several months later.

They also discussed the sudden and dramatic plunge in AirBnB’s business, how Brian adapted their business model to those new realities, and how this challenge led to a reimagination of how the company defines its role in society and the economy.

And if you’d like to check out more conversations with business leaders like this, just search for “Inside the Strategy Room” on your preferred podcast app and subscribe.

This conversation was recorded at a recent online global CEO event focused on growing out of the crisis. To read a transcript of this episode, visit: https://mck.co/brianchesky

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