Author Talks: The collection A series of interviews with authors of books on business and beyond. Summer/Winter 2021 Cover image: Edu Fuentes Copyright © 2021 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved. This publication is not intended to be used as the basis for trading in the shares of any company or for undertaking any other complex or significant financial transaction without consulting appropriate professional advisers. No part of this publication may be copied or redistributed in any form without the prior written consent of McKinsey & Company. To request permission to republish an article, email [email protected]. Author Talks: The collection A series of interviews with authors of books on business and beyond. Summer/Winter 2021 Introduction Welcome to Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s series of interviews with authors of books on business and beyond. This collection highlights 27 of our most insightful conversations on topics that have resonated with our audience over this challenging pandemic period, including CEO-level issues, work–life balance, organizational culture shifts, personal development, and more. We hope you find them as inspirational and enlightening as we have. You can explore more Author Talks interviews as they become available at McKinsey.com/author-talks. And check out the latest on McKinsey.com/books for this month’s best-selling business books, prepared exclusively for McKinsey Publishing by NPD Group, plus a collection of books by McKinsey authors on the management issues that matter, from leadership and talent to digital transformation and corporate finance. McKinsey Global Publishing 2 Contents Leadership and Innovative thinking History organization 60 Gillian Tett on looking at the 97 Michelle Duster on the legacy of world like an anthropologist Ida B. Wells 4 David Fubini on hidden truths for CEOs 65 Angus Fletcher on the power of 100 Mia Bay on traveling Black literature 8 Hubert Joly on unleashing human 105 McKinsey Global Institute’s Peter magic 70 Josh Linkner on how everyday Gumbel on searching for identity people can become everyday 12 Michael Useem on leading innovators with an edge 20 Dambisa Moyo on how boards can work better 24 Somebody tell a joke Talent, culture, and Finance and economics change management 109 Roger Martin on the high price of 75 Tsedal Neeley on why remote efficiency Personal development work is here to stay—and how to get it right 112 Gregory B. Fairchild on the next frontier in racial equality 28 Nicolai Tillisch on how to frame 80 Deanna Mulligan on smart skill ambition (and not let it frame you) building 116 Saadia Madsbjerg on making money moral 31 Shankar Vedantam on the power 84 Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini and paradox of self-deception on ‘humanocracy’ 37 Kristin Neff on harnessing fierce 89 Sandra J. Sucher on the power self-compassion of trust 42 Poet Maggie Smith on loss, 93 Joann S. Lublin on lessons for creativity, and change working mothers, their families, and their employers Communication 46 Denise Woods on the power of voice 49 Susan McPherson on building meaningful relationships—in business and in life 53 Fred Dust on making conversations count 56 Karin M. Reed on virtual meetings 3 Leadership and organization David Fubini on hidden truths for CEOs In his new book, David Fubini provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a superior leader. 4 Author Talks: The collection McKinsey Global Publishing Director Raju And I found it unusual that there wasn’t really an Narisetti chatted with David Fubini, former senior understanding of the basic realities of what the day- partner at McKinsey & Company, in anticipation of to-day was of CEOs. The second was when I would the release of his new book, Hidden Truths: What go to CEOs and say, “Here’s what I take away from Leaders Need to Hear But Are Rarely Told (Wiley, our conversation. I think this is important.” They December 2020). In the book, the accomplished would say, “It’s incredibly important. By the way, that Harvard Business School faculty member offers never happened to me because I was a better leader exclusive insights about C-suite jobs that provide than that.” But other leaders need to hear that. And aspiring leaders with practical, new skills that of course, I know from my own consulting will equip them for the immense challenges they experience, in many cases, they had experienced may confront. that which I was describing to them. What problem were you trying to solve with this book? Do your due diligence The book originates largely from three sort of major How can new leaders balance the need to react motivations. The first was I was teaching lots of quickly with the need to get it right? executives and, at the end of the sessions, many of There’s a huge challenge now because there is an them would come to me and say, “I learned so much expectation that CEOs will arrive, as I said in the from case examples and the Socratic conversations. book, prepared, and that that’s because there is Is there something written that would help us such limited time and patience among boards, memorialize the things that we’re learning?” And I analysts, and other constituencies that they’re was unable to find any really good books. I thought, having to deal with. maybe there’s an opportunity here. And I think this really calls on them to actually do an The second is I went and I looked at leadership enormous amount of homework that many CEOs, as books, and there are many, many written by CEOs. they came into their roles, often have not done. This But those tend to be biographical and lofty in terms is something that’s really new learning for CEOs. of the major learnings that they’re trying to convey. Indeed, one of the CEOs I interviewed who had been And I was thinking, I really want something day to remarkably successful at his transition—and I asked day—what it really feels like to be a leader. And then, what the underpinnings of it was—would talk about finally, Harvard came to me and said, “It would be how he very consciously viewed this as a due- great if you could write something, because this is a diligence exercise akin to buying a large company. topic we really think CEOs—and other leaders— would find valuable.” He had to actually secure a lot of information from a wide variety of sources. He actively sought to get What surprised you most about writing this book— consultative help, even in advance of getting into the in the research, writing, or response? company, because he wanted to arrive with a What was most surprising to me was how surprising strategic plan. He’d gone to investment bankers who CEOs found the things that I was conveying back to were friendly to him to ask, “How would this be them as a potential table of contents and ideas— greeted by Wall Street?” about what they experience, day in and day out, about these various elements of what it really means to be a new CEO, and about how much they thought it would be helpful for this to be conveyed to others. David Fubini on hidden truths for CEOs 5 Leadership and organization ‘In order to be a good CEO, you have to be a good strategist. You have to make disciplined trade-offs, and you have to know both the positive and the negative to make those trade-offs.’ This is the type of due diligence that is unusual for emerges. So those are the things that boards others—when they were just interviewing—to have really have to do a better job at, even before they done. Now, it’s become a standard. Because if they hire a CEO. don’t do that, they won’t be able to arrive with an actual plan. Now that plan obviously, like all plans, has to get modified by the reactions that it Arrive with a plan engenders. But the point is, you have to have a plan. What are some of the things new CEOs find surprising after they begin their tenure? What can boards do to ease the transition of I would spotlight three things as the biggest incoming leaders and set them up for success? surprises and blind spots for CEOs. One is the I think there’s a lot boards could do to really help importance of arriving with a plan and with a team. I CEOs and other leaders transition. The first is, they think a lot of CEOs think that they can just arrive and have to be very crisp about what it is that they’re they’ll have a grace period, which, often they find, seeking in their leader. That job description, which even if they did have a plan and a team, they’d be often feels like boilerplate, really is much more overwhelmed by the sheer volume of constituencies meaningful than that. and challenges that they have to actually deal with. And they never had time to really go back and get a It has to be: “Here’s the type of leader we are plan for what they wanted to do. seeking.” So when they go and seek that person, they are all in common agreement so that the The second is the belief that they get told the entire second thing can be achieved, which is a consensus truth by their management teams. In order to be a around the board.