Uncensored CMO Why we need to embrace failure with Kory Marchisotto [Uncensored Renegades]
Jan 26, 2026
Kory Marchisotto, marketing and leadership executive who’s been a CMO and head of innovation, talks about reframing failure as practice and feedback. He and Jon explore why failure feels shameful. They also unpack supply chain lessons, investor conversations, and how setbacks set the stage for future wins.
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Failure Has A Social Stigma
- Failure carries social stigma because people want to be seen succeeding and disown mistakes.
- John Evans argues that this hides the necessary learning that precedes major successes.
Transparent Failure Drives Faster Improvement
- Public, systemic sharing of failures reduces repeated mistakes across an industry.
- Matthew Syed's "black box" analogy shows transparency drives safer, faster improvement.
Create Permission By Sharing Failures
- Share your failures publicly to create permission for others to admit mistakes and learn.
- John Evans used a company session titled "My Most Epic Failures" to spark emotional honesty and collective learning.
