McKinsey · Ideas & Institutions
TIER 4 Sat, 27 Sep 2025 16:39:00 +0000
6 key steps
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| | Brought to you by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms
| | —Alex and Axel
| | | September 2025
| | To celebrate the 60th birthday of McKinsey Quarterly , the McKinsey Classics newsletter is dedicating a full year to enduring Quarterly articles that were ahead of their time. Also, check out our final special-themed birthday issue of the Quarterly, which explores our future on the planet, available now.
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| | If you’ve ever talked with a four-year-old before, you’ve likely picked up on one common trait that most young kids possess: They ask questions, and lots of them. But before you brush this off as merely a minor (if at times adorable) nuisance, the authors of this McKinsey Quarterly classic would challenge you to channel your inner four-year-old the next time you encounter a problem at work. Why? Because when faced with uncertainty, being curious about a wide range of solutions can help you arrive at a better one—and help avoid the behavioral biases that can hinder creative problem-solving.
That’s one of six mutually reinforcing problem-solving mindsets that the authors argue are crucial for uncertain times. The other five are equally paramount: Be an imperfectionist , with a high tolerance for ambiguity; have a “dragonfly eye” view of the world to see through multiple lenses; pursue occurrent behavior and experiment relentlessly; tap into the collective intelligence , acknowledging that the smartest people might not be in the room; and practice “show and tell,” because storytelling begets action.
Needing to solve a problem doesn’t have to be a problem. To learn more about how to cultivate the mindsets of the best problem solvers, read our Quarterly classic “Six problem-solving mindsets for very uncertain times.”
| | Read our latest thinking on this classic topic
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Only 21 percent of executives in a McKinsey survey on corporate strategies think their companies’ strategies are high quality. We call the ones that are beating the market and moving up the power curve of economic profit—which has never been steeper—Strategy Champions. These companies excel at designing bold strategies, mobilizing their organizations effectively, and sustaining focused execution. Read our latest insights on the topic from McKinsey Senior Partner Alejandro Krell and coauthors.
Design bold strategies
| | —Edited by Drew Holzfeind, editor, Chicago
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