The US has had a phenomenal run of success: at 250 years old, it’s home to the world’s most competitive economy, accounting for more than a quarter of global GDP and more than half of the world’s top 100 companies. But America also confronts a raft of new challenges—mounting national debt, eroding infrastructure, slipping test scores, persistent income disparity, and more—that could threaten its historical momentum.

“I don’t bet against the US,” says McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “If you believe in entrepreneurial spirit as core to who we are, then you have to believe this success will continue. But it’s not a foregone conclusion. There’s a lot that must happen to enable it.”

In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher and Senior Partner Olivia White speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about new McKinsey Global Institute research on what drives the US’s competitive edge—and what leaders need to do to maintain that edge in the AI era.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

The US has had a phenomenal run of success: at 250 years old, it&rsquo;s home to the world&rsquo;s most competitive economy, accounting for more than a quarter of global GDP and more than half of the world&rsquo;s top 100 companies. But America also confronts a raft of new challenges&mdash;mounting national debt, eroding infrastructure, slipping test scores, persistent income disparity, and more&mdash;that could threaten its historical momentum.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t bet against the US,&rdquo; says McKinsey&rsquo;s North America Chair <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/eric-kutcher">Eric Kutcher</a>. &ldquo;If you believe in entrepreneurial spirit as core to who we are, then you have to believe this success will continue. But it&rsquo;s not a foregone conclusion. There&rsquo;s a lot that must happen to enable it.&rdquo;
In this episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Kutcher and Senior Partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/olivia-white">Olivia White</a> speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/at-250-sustaining-americas-competitive-edge">new McKinsey Global Institute research</a> on what drives the US&rsquo;s competitive edge&mdash;and what leaders need to do to maintain that edge in the AI era.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Can the US sustain its competitive edge?

Yes, AI is astonishing: fast, powerful,and learning every day. But even as leaders strike up new pilots across their organizations, most still struggle to translate experimentation into enterprise value—and now, agentic AI is raising the stakes. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what it will take to build an “agentic organization”—from reimagining workflows to reshaping leadership roles, skills, and culture for a future where humans increasingly operate above the loop.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Yes, AI is astonishing: fast, powerful, and learning every day. But even as leaders strike up new pilots across their organizations, most still struggle to translate experimentation into enterprise value&mdash;and now, agentic AI is raising the stakes. In this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, McKinsey <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/alexis-krivkovich">Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich</a> speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what it will take to build an &ldquo;agentic organization&rdquo;&mdash;from reimagining workflows to reshaping leadership roles, skills, and culture for a future where humans increasingly operate above the loop.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

AI is everywhere. The agentic organization isn’t—yet

Companies backed by private equity (PE) tend to transform faster and more often than public or family-owned firms do, leading to consistently outperforming their peers. Marla Capozzi and Sacha Ghai, McKinsey leaders, researched nearly 300 CEOs across PE and private-capital companies to define their tactics and share their best practices with others. They and their coauthors published the findings in a recent Harvard Business Review article, and in this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, they speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about lessons from PE that any company can implement.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Companies backed by private equity (PE) tend to transform faster and more often than public or family-owned firms do, leading to consistently outperforming their peers. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/marla-capozzi">Marla Capozzi</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/sacha-ghai">Sacha Ghai</a>, McKinsey leaders, researched nearly 300 CEOs across PE and private-capital companies to define their tactics and share their best practices with others. They and their coauthors published the findings in a recent <a href="https://hbr.org/2025/11/what-every-company-can-learn-from-private-equity">Harvard Business Review article</a>, and in this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, they speak with Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro about lessons from PE that any company can implement.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Leadership lessons from private equity CEOs

Many leaders can get agentic pilots rolling—but realizing ROI can mean activating thousands of AI agents enterprise-wide. Is your organization ready? “Agency isn’t a feature—it’s a transfer of decision rights,” says McKinsey Partner Rich Isenberg. “The question shifts from ‘Is the model accurate?’ to ‘Who’s accountable when the system acts?’” On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Isenberg joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to explore how leaders can scale AI safely, mitigate risk for autonomous systems, and build the trust required to make innovation stick.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Many leaders can get agentic pilots rolling&mdash;but realizing ROI can mean activating thousands of AI agents enterprise-wide. Is your organization ready? &ldquo;Agency isn&rsquo;t a feature&mdash;it&rsquo;s a transfer of decision rights,&rdquo; says McKinsey Partner <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/rich-isenberg">Rich Isenberg</a>. &ldquo;The question shifts from &lsquo;Is the model accurate?&rsquo; to &lsquo;Who&rsquo;s accountable when the system acts?&rsquo;&rdquo; On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Isenberg joins Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to explore how leaders can scale AI safely, mitigate risk for autonomous systems, and build the trust required to make innovation stick.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Trust in the age of agents

McKinsey research has found that while many leaders believe they’ve adopted and implemented productive mindsets for growth, those attitudes and ambitions don’t always translate into the behaviors and actions necessary to achieve their growth objectives. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro speaks with McKinsey Senior Partners Greg Kelly and Jill Zucker about how leading organizations translate growth intent into sustained performance. In part, it involves making clear bets, allocating resources deliberately, and staying committed through uncertainty.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

McKinsey research has found that while many leaders believe they&rsquo;ve adopted and implemented productive mindsets for growth, those attitudes and ambitions don&rsquo;t always translate into the behaviors and actions necessary to achieve their growth objectives. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro speaks with McKinsey Senior Partners Greg Kelly and Jill Zucker about how leading organizations <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/achieving-growth-putting-leadership-mindsets-and-behaviors-into-action">translate growth intent into sustained performance</a>. In part, it involves making clear bets, allocating resources deliberately, and staying committed through uncertainty.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

What does it take to achieve and sustain growth?

On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Lars Hartenstein, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute, and Roberta Fusaro, an editorial director at McKinsey, discuss the findings from McKinsey’s recent research on obesity and metabolic health—specifically, the potential interventions for sparking a metabolic health revolution, the economic impact of improving outcomes, and the technologies that are emerging as the connective tissue between prevention and treatment.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/lars-hartenstein">Lars Hartenstein</a>, senior fellow at the McKinsey Health Institute, and Roberta Fusaro, an editorial director at McKinsey, discuss the findings from McKinsey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/the-path-toward-a-metabolic-health-revolution">recent research on obesity and metabolic health</a>&mdash;specifically, the potential interventions for sparking a metabolic health revolution, the economic impact of improving outcomes, and the technologies that are emerging as the connective tissue between prevention and treatment.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

A new way of thinking about metabolic health

This is a special episode of The McKinsey Podcastcovering last week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. McKinsey Senior Partners Becca Coggins and Shelley Stewart III speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what was top of mind for CEOs—from geopolitics to leading through the AI moment to the faster-than-expected arrival of humanoid robots at scale.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

This is a special episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a> covering last week&rsquo;s meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. McKinsey Senior Partners <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/becca-coggins">Becca Coggins</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/shelley-stewart">Shelley Stewart III</a> speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what was top of mind for CEOs&mdash;from geopolitics to leading through the AI moment to the faster-than-expected arrival of humanoid robots at scale.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Special episode: 2026 Davos highlights

AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? “This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we’ve seen—but it’s 80 percent business transformation and 20 percent tech,” according to McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “That’s different from how most people have thought about it.” On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Eric speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how CEOs can deliver on AI’s revolutionary potential—and meet this “legacy moment” successfully.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? &ldquo;This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we&rsquo;ve seen&mdash;but it&rsquo;s 80 percent business transformation and 20 percent tech,&rdquo; according to McKinsey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/eric-kutcher">North America Chair Eric Kutcher</a>. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s different from how most people have thought about it.&rdquo; On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Eric speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how CEOs can deliver on AI&rsquo;s revolutionary potential&mdash;and meet this &ldquo;legacy moment&rdquo; successfully.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

How the best CEOs are meeting the AI moment

McKinsey’s Bill Wiseman, Bob Sternfels, Martin Kellner, and Steffen Fuchs were on the ground at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In this special episode of The McKinsey Podcast, they tell us about the tools and themes that most resonated with them—breakthrough AI applications, advances in mobility, and more.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

McKinsey&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/bill-wiseman" data-outlook-id="844a26c6-56e5-445d-879d-a7ed183e34ee">Bill Wiseman</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/bob-sternfels" data-outlook-id="c164bfb8-dbd0-4c89-8058-78f029203f62">Bob Sternfels</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/martin-kellner" data-outlook-id="7b09fb6f-bd9e-4193-b1ce-710c18f2f332">Martin Kellner</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmckinsey.com%2Four-people%2Fsteffen-fuchs&amp;data=05%7C02%7CLaurel_Moglen%40mckinsey.com%7Cdf33e4cfb6464ecf79ae08de4fa3b88e%7Ccc8936bc93824fff87cb6f55999549e7%7C0%7C0%7C639035761748268305%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=DnJwZp%2FFVsDxE3f98MIW6c1FMGI8fcyIqFuYZ0uOs0U%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="23477c89-e9fa-43f7-9d2c-4ba078ad7dcd">Steffen Fuchs</a>&nbsp;were&nbsp;on the ground at this year&rsquo;s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In this special episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, they tell us about the tools and themes that most resonated with them&mdash;breakthrough AI applications, advances in mobility, and more.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

 Special episode: McKinsey at CES 2026 

Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents. That’s not science fiction; it’s happening. And it’s happening relatively quickly, according to McKinsey Senior Partner Jorge Amar. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, originally broadcast on McKinsey Talks Talent, Jorge joins McKinsey talent leaders Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock and Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to talk about what these AI agents are, how they’re being used, and how leaders can prepare now for the workforce of the not-too-distant future.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

Think about your&nbsp;org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues&mdash;humans, if you&rsquo;re like most of us&mdash;and AI agents. That&rsquo;s not science fiction; it&rsquo;s happening. And it&rsquo;s happening relatively quickly, according to McKinsey Senior Partner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/jorge-amar">Jorge Amar</a>. In this episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, originally broadcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast">McKinsey Talks Talent</a>, Jorge joins McKinsey talent leaders&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/brooke-weddle">Brooke Weddle</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/bryan-hancock">Bryan Hancock</a> and Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to talk about what these AI agents are, how they&rsquo;re being used, and how leaders can prepare now for the workforce of the not-too-distant future.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

The future of work is agentic

The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast

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