The McKinsey Quarterly articles from September 1997

The McKinsey Quarterly archives from September 1997

Developing Leaders in a Business
September 22, 1997... Marvin Bower, McKinsey's managing partner from 1950 to 1967, turned 93 this year. In his new book, he urges senior managers to abandon command-and-control structures and adopt a program to develop leaders, starting with themselves. In this...

Teamwork across Time and Space
September 22, 1997... Can teams that don't spend time physically together be effective? The answer is yes - so long as they can find a way to build credibility and trust Technology has made global teamwork an everyday reality for thousands of people. Software...

A Tougher Game at the Top: Champion Paper Pioneered Team Building in Its Mills. but Building Teams in the Executive Suite Took Ten Years. Was It Worth It?
September 22, 1997... Champion Paper pioneered team building in its mills But building teams in the executive suite took ten years Was it worth it? In the early 1980s, Champion International Corporation decided to build a state-of-the-art paper mill in Quinnesec,...

Overreaching for Mass Retailers
September 22, 1997... Serving these giant accounts may be profitable But will the gains outweigh losses in other channels? Be prepared to make big changes in manufacturing, logistics, sales, and customer service The thought of winning a contract to supply a mass...

The New Infomediaries
September 22, 1997... Will they dominate the networked economy? Agents, proxies, and filters whose first allegiance will be to customers and to the information they guard Their challenge? Managing the interplay between trust and value received Received wisdom has it...

Time to Get Rid of Legacy Systems
September 22, 1997... The real issue is people, not systems Here's how one utility addressed it Everyone knows - or thinks they know - what the problem with IT is: large organizations competing in rapidly evolving markets are held hostage to the out-of-date computer...

Escaping the IT Abyss
September 22, 1997... Like it or not, you should know the truth about your investment in information technology It's also time to face facts about how your organization made these expensive decisions. Then put the business side on the hook to deliver results There's...

Is There a Future for the Postman?
September 22, 1997... Tough times ahead for national postal operators But there are options, both in core activities and new business The first goal must be performance The postman and the local post office have been part of the landscape for more than a century....

Deregulation on Track? the Transformation of European Rail
September 22, 1997... The deregulation of Europe's rail freight business is gaining momentum. In January 1998, the European Union plans to introduce trans-European rail freight freeways, a move that could be a turning point in introducing competition to railroads and...

Emerging Market Alliances: Must They Be Win-Lose?
September 22, 1997... "Marry in haste, repent at leisure" Both sides, global and local, need to understand how power could shift Managing partner differences Global companies are looking to emerging markets for growth. Companies in emerging markets are looking for...

Attackers versus Incumbents: The Battle for Value in an IP-Networked World
September 22, 1997... The datacom market is booming - and new entrants could grab two-thirds share Next up: using the Internet for phone calls "It's the packets, stupid" Call it the battle of the networks - the telecom networks, that is. In one corner are the...

Boosting Dutch Economic Performance
September 22, 1997... Despite the headlines, the Netherlands still trails other economies But it could create one and a half million new jobs over the next decade Six barriers stand in the way The Netherlands is generally viewed as a bright spot in a continent plagued...

Playing to the Endgame in Financial Services
September 22, 1997... Every week brings news of another financial services acquisition in the United States. Such events act as a reminder, if one were needed, that this massive and diverse industry is undergoing unprecedented consolidation. Consider these facts: *...

Brand Consolidation Makes a Lot of Economic Sense: But Only One in Five Attempts Succeeds
September 22, 1997... But only one in five attempts succeeds Of the many challenges thrown up in the wake of mergers and acquisitions, one in particular is likely to result in disappointment: the task of brand consolidation. Most brand consolidation efforts fail and...

Hypermarkets May Be Losing Their Appeal for European Consumers
September 22, 1997... Since they appeared in continental Europe in the early 1970s, hypermarkets have turned retailing's competitive structure upside down, prompting an overhaul of marketing, sales techniques, and retail logistics, and revolutionizing consumer goods...

Consumer IT: To Play or Not to Play?
September 22, 1997... Consumer IT is unprofitable - or so it is popularly believed. While there are few among current competitors that are not considering exit, many non-participants, paradoxically, are considering entry. Big names such as NEC, Siemens, IBM, Compaq,...