External Articles

McKinsey conversations with global leaders: John Chambers of Cisco

July 2009: McKinsey speaks with CEO and chairman of Cisco Systems, John Chambers, about approaches to decentralized management and leadership, particularly remodelling for collaboration. Chambers provides perspective on the future of Web technology and the opportunity that an economic downturn provides for strategically minded companies.

McKinsey conversations with global leaders: Jeroen van der Veer of Shell

July 2009: McKinsey speaks with former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, about his personal approach to management and leadership. In this article van der Veer shares his thoughts on the future of oil, prospects for alternative energies, and challenges the industry faces in tackling the problems of climate change. He also discusses health care reform, the economic downturn, and executive compensation.

Applying lean production to the public sector 

June 2006: McKinsey reports on the application of lean tools within governments. Lean strategies can help governments to deliver more and better services on smaller budgets.

Organizing for successful change management

July 2006: This McKinsey Quarterly survey sheds new light on what drives a successful transformation in organizational performance.

Study: Bad Requirements Gathering hurts IT Projects

February 2008: Computerworld reports that a study reveals that only one-third of projects enjoy a "probable" chance of success and another third are run-away projects.

The Rise of the Business Analyst - Again

February 2007: Computerworld (US) magazine discusses the need for business analysts in-house, rather than using outsourced consultants.

ATO halfway through digital rollout

February 2007: Computerworld magazine features an article on the Australian Tax office, in which the ATO praises Holocentric Modeler as a communication tool.

Improving Strategic Planning

September 2006: This McKinsey survey discovered that executives say their companies could be a lot more effective at developing a strategy and implementing strategic plans, and they suggest some areas for improvement.

The Megacommunity Manifesto

August 2006: Report from Booze Allen Hamilton regarding the need for executives to align the interests of the outside world with their own agendas to face challenges such as global competitiveness, health and environmental risks, or inadequate infrastructure.

How Boeing A&T Manages Business Processes

November 2005: An excellent article on how Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs changed from being an organization in trouble to a world-class performer.

Building a Nimble Organization

July 2006: This McKinsey Global Survey reports that executives around the world overwhelmingly agree that the agility and speed of their companies are urgent business issues.

UK Office of Government Commerce - Successful Delivery Toolkit

September 2006: This is a freely available electronic reference tool from the UK Govt Office of Government Commerce which assists which assists public.

Fixing the Requirements Mess

February 2006: This article from CIO magazine compares different approaches to requirements definition.

Recapturing your supply chain data

March 2006: This article by McKinsey discusses how companies can re-capture critical supply chain information when parts of the supply chain have been outsourced.

Value Chains vs Supply Chains 

March 2006: In this thought provoking article, Andrew Feller, Dan Shunk, and Tom Callarman consider the nature of value chains and supply chains and discuss how companies can synchronize the two to optimize business performance.