Carl Eschenbach joined Workday in December 2022 to serve as co-CEO alongside Co-Founder Aneel Bhusri before becoming sole CEO in February 2024. In this episode, our North America Chair and senior partner, Eric Kutcher, talks with Carl about taking a ‘co-existence’ view of the role of AI in the workforce as a source of productivity, building an endurable company with a growth mindset culture, and the responsibility of leaders to serve the success of others.

Related Insights

Becoming CEO—just in time for a global crisis: David Gitlin

How Judy Marks leads Otis Worldwide Corporation through uncertainty and technological evolution

Data, analytics, and decisions: An interview with Teradata’s CFO

Palo Alto Networks CFO on AI, cybersecurity, and the finance leader’s mandate

The Strategic CEO newsletter

Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

In this episode, we speak with Eric Olson, a retired US Navy Admiral with a distinguished career in special operations, about the key principles of effective leadership, particularly in times of uncertainty. Eric shares insights from his experiences leading high-performing teams and organizations through complex challenges, offering valuable leadership lessons for executives in today's rapidly changing business landscape.

Related insights:

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets that Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest

The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs learn to lead from the inside out

Trusted advice for effective leadership

The CEO as chief resilience officer

The Strategic CEO newsletter

McKinsey Insights on Strategy & Corporate Finance

McKinsey Strategy & Corporate Finance on LinkedIn

Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Even in a highly uncertain business environment, companies that build new businesses and develop new offerings, processes, and business models are better able to capture growth opportunities and hedge against disruption. Our recent survey of more than 1,000 companies around the world reflected this, with the largest share of respondents identifying the ability to innovate as their most important strategic factor for generating growth over the coming 12 months.

To discuss the survey and talk about the innovation activities top performers are focusing on today, Sean Brown is joined by Rebecca Doherty, Matt Banholzer, and Clayton O’Toole. Rebecca co-leads our Strategic Growth and Innovation practice and is a partner in our San Francisco office. She works extensively with health care, industrial, and technology clients to define and execute growth road maps. Matt co-leads our Global Strategic Growth and Innovation practice with Rebecca and is a senior partner in our Chicago office. He also sits on the leadership team of our business-building practice, and serves organizations on innovation strategy across a range of sectors, including energy, materials, and agriculture. Clayton is a leader in our Strategy & Corporate Finance and Consumer Tech and Media practices in North America and is a partner based in our Minnesota office. He serves a wide range of clients including media organizations, sports leagues; food, apparel, and hardlines retailers; consumer packaged goods companies, and principal investors.

Related Insights

How top performers use innovation to grow within and beyond the core

The eight essentials of innovation

Revolutionary innovations propelling growth

Support the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information