Inside the Strategy Room

For new CEOs, engaging stakeholders is one of the most important—and most challenging—parts of the job. In this episode, Carolyn Dewar, Blair Epstein, and Eric Sherman discuss how CEOs can build a strong stakeholder strategy from day one.
Drawing on research and their work with leaders across industries, they explore why stakeholder engagement matters so much, the unique challenges new CEOs face, and how leaders can best balance competing priorities across investors, employees, customers, regulators, and communities. They also discuss practical ways to create a clear narrative, strengthen communication, and build leverage through the top team.
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Nail your firsts: A new CEO’s guide to stakeholder impact
How the best CEOs build lasting stakeholder relationships
Your best day won’t define you as CEO—your worst one will
A CEO For All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership
CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders From the Rest
The Strategic CEO newsletter on LinkedIn
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Building resilience is a critical skill for organizations today, yet our research shows that many leaders and organizations don’t spend enough time building their resilience to navigate current and emerging risks. In this episode, two authors of a recent article on the topic discuss how organizations can better prepare for what they face today and in the future.
Ida Kristensen is a senior partner in our New York office and the global co-leader of our Risk and Resilience Practice. She advises clients across sectors on risk, strategy, and operational topics spanning enterprise risk management, resilience, organization and talent, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and operational improvement. And Linda Liu is a partner in our New York office and a leader in our Risk and Resilience Practice and our crisis response initiative. She works with global organizations on strategy, risk, operations, and organizational transformation.
Related insights
The CEO as chief resilience officer
Resilience pulse check: Harnessing collaboration to navigate a volatile world
High-performing teams: A timeless leadership topic
What resilience means to Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar
McKinsey Risk & Resilience insights
McKinsey Risk and Resilience on LinkedIn
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As artificial intelligence transforms how companies compete, many boards are grappling with how to provide effective oversight in this new era. Senior partners Aamer Baig, Celia Huber, and senior advisor Rebecca Schechter join host Sean Brown Inside the Strategy Room to discuss their recent article on how directors can rethink their guidance on AI adoption and readiness, while navigating risks that cut across strategy, talent, and governance.
The AI reckoning: How boards can evolve
Rewired: How leading companies win with technology and AI
McKinsey Insights on Strategy & Corporate Finance
McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance on LinkedIn
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Companies that execute transformations with rigor are much more likely to achieve their goals, generate higher total shareholder returns, and enjoy better organizational health. In this episode, Preeya Mody and Dominic Skerritt join host Sean Brown to share insights from their latest research on the role of rigor in driving and sustaining successful transformations. They discuss what defines rigor in a transformation, explore the three elements that rigorous transformations consistently demonstrate, and share practical advice for sustaining momentum without burning out teams.
Related insights
Going all in: Why employee ‘will’ can make or break transformations
The McKinsey Organizational Health Index
Wave by McKinsey
Seven principles for achieving transformational growth
Beyond transformation: What we now know about driving bottom-line performance
The powerful role financial incentives can play in a transformation
McKinsey Insights on Transformation
McKinsey Transformation on LinkedIn
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While artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from experimentation to execution, many companies still struggle to capture real value from the technology. In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Jean-Paul Carvalho and Robin Nuttall to explore how CEOs can more effectively scale AI and to discuss the technology's implications for the future of work and organizations.

Jean-Paul is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Oxford’s Department of Economics and Director of Oxford Elevate. Robin Nuttall is an expert partner in our London office and a leader of our regulatory strategy and environmental, social, and governance work. Robin is also a Business Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Economics Department.

Related insightsHow AI is transforming strategy developmentThe state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformationBuilding next-horizon AI experiencesArtificial intelligence in strategy
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