How failure results in lessons learned. Failure happens. Despite the popularity of that macho business slogan, sometimes failure actually is an option. Certainly not one we would choose. But one that chooses us. So how do we count the many ways to fail? There are failures of leadership and strategic thinking gone awry. There are failures of communication, leading people to bad decisions or mistaken assumptions. There are failures of business models that no one could foresee or forestall. But the real test for CIOs these days is not merely surviving failure but gaining wisdom from its intrinsic lessons. Unfortunately for us all, the current economy probably has many more such assignments to dole out. Our cover story this issue is all about extracting value from failure—even in a culture that glorifies winning at all costs. “It takes both courage and some political capital to stand up and say, ‘We’ve made a mistake,'” says CIO Don Goldstein of $5 billion CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate services company. In describing the wrenching decisions that CIOs must sometimes make to halt wayward IT projects, he notes, “You make commitments. The last thing you want to do is not live up to them.” As you read the searingly honest accounts of these lessons-learned-under-fire, you may recognize familiar scenarios from your own career. Like the time you picked a project leader who alienated the senior business team, as CIO Chris Barron of CPS Energy did. Or the time a major network outage showed just how far past its limits you’d pushed existing infrastructure, as CIO John Halamka of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center did. Yet the resiliency that failure builds can be a definite plus on an executive résumé—the mark of a leader able to handle adversity. That’s happening in real-time for CIO Rob Fort of Virgin Megastores North America, as the company closes all its U.S. music stores and Fort manages the shutdown. “I have the desire to do this with integrity,” he says. Indeed, integrity is never in short supply with our readers. We are especially grateful to the CIOs who so generously shared some of their most difficult personal and professional hurdles with us for this story. As CIO Twila Day of Sysco so aptly puts it: “You learn more when something goes wrong than when everything goes right.” Do you Tweet? Follow me on Twitter @maryfranjohnson. Follow everything from CIO Magazine on Twitter @CIOMagazine. Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe