Why do so many beloved companies lose their way after taking on outside capital or going public? Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, joins senior partner Ryan Davies to discuss “financial gravity,” the force that pulls organizations toward mission drift. Drawing on stories such as Costco’s origins, they explore how governance built on purpose, coherence, and integrity can help companies earn trust and create long-term value.

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Learn more about Eric Reis

Strategy and Value: The Four Foundations That Drive Long Term Performance

How CEOs can play the long game in a shortsighted world

Why do so many beloved companies lose their way after taking on outside capital or going public? <a href="https://ericries.co/">Eric Ries</a>, author of Incorruptible and founder of the <a href="https://ltse.com/">Long-Term Stock Exchange,</a> joins senior partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/ryan-davies">Ryan Davies</a> to discuss &ldquo;financial gravity,&rdquo; the force that pulls organizations toward mission drift. Drawing on stories such as Costco&rsquo;s origins, they explore how governance built on purpose, coherence, and integrity can help companies earn trust and create long-term value.
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<a href="https://ericries.co/">Learn more about Eric Reis</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/strategy-and-value">Strategy and Value: The Four Foundations That Drive Long Term Performance</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-ceos-can-play-the-long-game-in-a-shortsighted-world">How CEOs can play the long game in a shortsighted world</a>

We talk with McKinsey partners and corporate executives on the challenges they face creating lasting strategies in a fast-changing world. We also examine the different ways these executives approach these challenges and the new and innovative ways they think of creating a vision for their enterprises.

What does it take to survive in a world of constant change? More than ever, enterprises need to create strategies that can meet current needs but also adapt to future demand. A regular series of interviews with McKinsey partners and corporate executives.

Inside the Strategy Room

The world is moving faster, and as upheaval becomes the norm, vast business opportunities will be within the grasp of the extraordinary few.  But it takes bold people and courageous approaches to seize those opportunities and create value.

In each episode of our weekly podcast, we interview the world’s highest-performing CEOs, CFOs, innovators, and McKinsey experts and discuss how they build the courage, clarity, conviction, and cohesion that allow their businesses to win by moving faster than the world around them. 

The world is moving faster, and as upheaval becomes the norm, vast business opportunities will be within the grasp of the extraordinary few. &nbsp;But it takes bold people and courageous approaches to seize those opportunities and create value.
In each episode of our weekly podcast, we interview the world&rsquo;s highest-performing CEOs, CFOs, innovators, and McKinsey experts and discuss how they build the courage, clarity, conviction, and cohesion that allow their businesses to win by moving faster than the world around them.&nbsp;

329. Resisting “financial gravity”: How purpose-driven companies endure

Agentic AI is fundamentally changing how a transformation office (TO) can operate, freeing up the team to be not just faster but better. Chase Covington and Tomer Slaney join us to discuss how deploying agentic tools can generate sharper performance insights, maintain a single source of truth, and drive the right conversations at the right cadence—while allowing a more dedicated focus on the human elements of the change effort.

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The agentic transformation office: Redefining the economics of change

WAVE: By McKinsey

Building the foundations for agentic AI at scale

Escaping the pilot trap: Building HR for the agentic era

From potential to performance: Using gen AI to conduct outside-in diligence

Unlocking full potential: Five practices reshaping PE value creation

McKinsey Transformation

McKinsey Transformation on LinkedIn

Agentic AI is fundamentally changing how a transformation office (TO) can operate, freeing up the team to be not just faster but better. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/chase-covington">Chase Covington</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/tomer-slaney">Tomer Slaney</a> join us to discuss how deploying agentic tools can generate sharper performance insights, maintain a single source of truth, and drive the right conversations at the right cadence&mdash;while allowing a more dedicated focus on the human elements of the change effort.
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/transformation/our-insights/the-agentic-transformation-office-redefining-the-economics-of-change">The agentic transformation office: Redefining the economics of change</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/transformation/how-we-help-clients/wave/overview">WAVE: By McKinsey</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-technology/our-insights/building-the-foundations-for-agentic-ai-at-scale">Building the foundations for agentic AI at scale</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/escaping-the-pilot-trap-building-hr-for-the-agentic-era">Escaping the pilot trap: Building HR for the agentic era</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/transformation/our-insights/from-potential-to-performance-using-gen-ai-to-conduct-outside-in-diligence">From potential to performance: Using gen AI to conduct outside-in diligence</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/transformation/our-insights/unlocking-full-potential-five-practices-reshaping-pe-value-creation">Unlocking full potential: Five practices reshaping PE value creation</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/transformation/how-we-help-clients">McKinsey Transformation</a>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-transformation">McKinsey Transformation on LinkedIn</a>

328. Driving agentic transformation: How AI is rewriting the playbook on large-scale change

Today’s disruption has created a critical ‘Strategy Moment’ for organizations navigating a fundamentally changing basis of competitive advantage. Carolyn Dewar, Marcus Jacob and Laura LaBerge join us to debunk four strategy myths and unpack how long-held assumptions are being rewritten to shape foundational strategic choices for a future-focused reality. They also discuss where AI amplifies the challenge—and creates opportunity—and how to determine if your AI investment is pointed in the right strategic direction.  

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Strategy and Value: The Four Foundations That Drive Long-Term Performance

Strategy’s biggest blind spot: Erosion of competitive advantage

Why accelerated resource allocation matters in the age of AI

How to maximize competitive advantage

How top economic performers lean into their competitive advantage to guide their strategy

CEO Excellence

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

Today&rsquo;s disruption has created a critical &lsquo;Strategy Moment&rsquo; for organizations navigating a fundamentally changing basis of competitive advantage. <a href="https://links.mckinsey.com/NDczLVpZRS01MjIAAAGj5j6QqgfEjcfIPkH-tBYyiVYCK10EVHMEKmbOGGj5Nd8QJyPqBxDUFvEUtxsI1gxI4jtRxOo=">Carolyn Dewar</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/marcus-jacob">Marcus Jacob</a> and <a href="https://links.mckinsey.com/NDczLVpZRS01MjIAAAGj5j6QqkavkZgHZXycs9NBppMgDKguGAtVq89j_mg0iv080TFcjODZ5yq4NuP9a4A_8LkC1MY=">Laura LaBerge</a> join us to debunk four strategy myths and unpack how long-held assumptions are being rewritten to shape foundational strategic choices for a future-focused reality. They also discuss where AI amplifies the challenge&mdash;and creates opportunity&mdash;and how to determine if your AI investment is pointed in the right strategic direction. &nbsp;
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<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/strategy-and-value">Strategy and Value: The Four Foundations That Drive Long-Term Performance</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/strategys-biggest-blind-spot-erosion-of-competitive-advantage">Strategy&rsquo;s biggest blind spot: Erosion of competitive advantage</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/why-accelerated-resource-allocation-matters-in-the-age-of-ai">Why accelerated resource allocation matters in the age of AI</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-to-maximize-competitive-advantage">How to maximize competitive advantage</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-top-economic-performers-lean-into-their-competitive-advantage-to-guide-their-strategy">How top economic performers lean into their competitive advantage to guide their strategy</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-excellence">CEO Excellence</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-for-all-seasons">A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership</a>

327. Four strategy myths holding your company back 

As we enter the fourth quarter, we look to where M&A stands and how dealmakers can finish strong. We also explore how AI is rewriting the traditional M&A playbook: success no longer comes from scale alone, but from building intelligent platforms and capabilities that compound over time to drive growth. Benjamin Houssard, Kameron Kordestani, Alex Liu, and Tobias Lundberg walk through how to leverage AI to turn a series of transactions into a self-reinforcing growth engine.

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2026 M&A trends: Navigating a rapidly rebounding market

Technology M&A: AI enters its industrial phase

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Gen AI in M&A: From theory to practice to high performance

Advanced industries: Geopolitics, economics, and technology drive M&A

Culture in M&A

Using M&A to launch a transformation

As we enter the fourth quarter, we look to where M&amp;A stands and how dealmakers can finish strong. We also explore how AI is rewriting the traditional M&amp;A playbook: success no longer comes from scale alone, but from building intelligent platforms and capabilities that compound over time to drive growth. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/benjamin-houssard?cid=cl4c-cml&amp;sid=%7b%7blead.SFDC%20Id:default=CL4C%7d%7d">Benjamin Houssard</a>, <a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fkameronkordestani%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CClare_Kitada-SYDN%40external.mckinsey.com%7C1185d76734c84e6ba02a08df1f06e638%7Ccc8936bc93824fff87cb6f55999549e7%7C0%7C0%7C639263786669490784%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=U6lvMeK4p%2FIbHkg%2BxvXK7o6iErUkoOrlYSpEoP47zaM%3D&amp;reserved=0">Kameron Kordestani</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/alex-liu?cid=cl4c-cml&amp;sid=%7b%7blead.SFDC%20Id:default=CL4C%7d%7d">Alex Liu</a>, and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/tobias-lundberg">Tobias Lundberg</a> walk through how to leverage AI to turn a series of transactions into a self-reinforcing growth engine.
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<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/top-m-and-a-trends">2026 M&amp;A trends: Navigating a rapidly rebounding market</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/technology-m-and-a-ai-enters-its-industrial-phase">Technology M&amp;A: AI enters its industrial phase</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/five-steps-to-strengthen-m-and-a-capabilities-no-matter-the-starting-point">Five steps to strengthen M&amp;A capabilities, no matter the starting point</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/gen-ai-in-m-and-a-from-theory-to-practice-to-high-performance">Gen AI in M&amp;A: From theory to practice to high performance</a>
<a href="https://prod.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/advanced-industries-geopolitics-economics-and-technology-drive-m-and-a">Advanced industries: Geopolitics, economics, and technology drive M&amp;A</a>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/inside-the-strategy-room/in-conversation-culture-in-m-a">Culture in M&amp;A</a>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/inside-the-strategy-room/192-using-m-a-to-launch-a-transformation">Using M&amp;A to launch a transformation</a>

329. Resisting “financial gravity”: How purpose-driven companies endure

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