Council Post: ​How Smart Companies Use Economic Moats To Thrive In Volatile Times

Council Post: How Smart Companies Use Economic Moats To Thrive In Volatile Times focuses on how firms can endure market turbulence by building “economic moats.” Anil Chintapalli, Managing Partner of Human Capital Development and Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Co., argues that volatility is recurring and that the key differentiator is the ability to create and protect shareholder value even during shocks. He connects the growing importance of moats to faster changes driven by AI and rapid macro repricing. Chintapalli says modern moats are not purely defensive, but can strengthen a company by improving both revenue and profitability. He also describes a software-enabled operating system for enterprise shareholder value creation that encodes patterns from more than 30 years of experience, linked to eight operational rails. The article ties this approach to balance-sheet resilience and the potential to outperform competitors in the same downturn.