For centuries, artisans in Japan have embodied the art of “kintsugi,” restoring broken pottery by sealing the cracks with lacquer dusted in gold. Rather than hiding breakage, this practice teaches that although cracks may be inevitable, the very act of anticipating such flaws and converting these stressors into strengths can build resilience.
At a time of constant volatility — some expected, but other technology disruptions coming at a moment’s notice — this mindset reminds us to take a step back and think bigger. If disruption is a given, how do we create a structure and organization that becomes more resilient with each form it takes?
For technology and business leaders responding to the breakneck pace of advanced AI, such as generative AI, agentic AI and physical AI, preparing for a future of change is key. Yet, according to recent Accenture research, only 36% of CIOs and CTOs feel prepared to respond to change.
When we analyzed more than 1,600 of the world’s largest businesses within their peer sets across key technology and business dimensions, we found that absolute resilience is rebounding. Yet, much like fragile pottery, there are fractures. The gap between strong and weak organizations widened by 17 percentage points, and less than than 15% of companies achieve long-term profitable growth.
Too many leaders are clinging to outdated models, rather than building resilience into the core of their organizations so that when cracks appear, they can adapt and respond quickly and effectively.
What CIOs Can Learn from High Performers
The most resilient companies are those that treat disruption as a chance to differentiate themselves, not as something to endure. They achieve revenue growth six percentage points faster, with profit margins eight percentage points higher than peers.
For CIOs, the takeaway is clear: Resilience isn’t just crisis management. It must be adaptive, future-facing and deeply integrated across the business. Just as kintsugi artisans view unexpected cracks as an opportunity to rebuild, CIOs must redefine resilience. This includes balancing across four critical dimensions:
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Making technology the foundation of reinvention: An Accenture survey conducted in May of 3,000 C-suite executives found that nine in 10 C-suite leaders plan to increase their AI investments this year, with 67% viewing AI as a revenue driver. For CIOs, this means ensuring that AI, data, and cloud initiatives and projects go beyond pilots to scaling foundations for growth. The good news is that, according to Accenture’s Pulse of Change survey conducted in late 2024, 34% of the 2,000 respondents already successfully scaled at least one industry-specific AI solution.
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Adapting the business and commercial models as consumer behavior shifts toward AI: Three-quarters of more than 18,000 respondents to Accenture’s 2025 Consumer Pulse Research are already open to using a trusted AI-powered shopper, and about 18% cite generative AI (GenAI) as their go-to for purchase recommendations. The shift in demand, coupled with increasing costs, is putting pricing models under pressure.
Technology leaders can create AI-powered analytics to help their business teams make faster calls on what costs to absorb and what to pass on, keeping margins intact. They can leverage this disruption in how consumers make purchases by tapping into their trust in AI to create better hyper-personalized offerings.
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Investing in and growing their people: Companies that invest in both their technology and their talent are four times more likely to sustain profitable growth. Yet, Accenture’s Pulse of Change survey found that leaders with GenAI are prioritizing tech in their budgets three times more than their people.
With 42% of employees working regularly with AI agents, according to the same survey, equipping employees with the tools and training to thrive alongside AI is critical to building a resilient talent workforce. This allows companies to not just absorb disruption, but also grow stronger through it. A workforce that can adapt quickly, stay engaged, and drive change from within is essential to long-term growth.
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Reconfiguring operations for greater autonomy: According to Accenture research, an estimated 43% of total working hours in supply chain roles in the U.S. can be transformed by GenAI. Yet another Accenture survey, this time of 1,000 C-suite executives in 2024, found that the supply chains of an average company are still only 21% autonomous. By delegating processes and decisions to intelligent AI-powered systems and enabling predictive modeling, tech leaders can help their companies recover faster from shocks.
From Patchwork System to Adaptable Foundation
When pottery breaks, kintsugi artisans don’t throw the pieces away; they transform adversity into resilience. Leaders of high-performing companies view change as an opportunity to create stronger, more versatile, and more adaptable businesses for the future. In our research, 60% of companies in the top quartile of resilience sustain positive profit returns during systemic shocks.
In today’s environment, resilience is not reorientation; it’s reinvention. Like pottery mended with gold, organizations that embrace it will emerge stronger, more valuable, and built for long-term profitable growth.
