Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove: Failure Is an Important Lesson in Leadership

Pioneering heart surgeon says failure is bad only if you don't recover from it

By U.S. News Staff

November 23, 2009 RSS Feed Print

Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, one of the top-ranked hospitals in the nation and one of U.S. News's partner hospitals, says he has never been afraid to make mistakes, viewing them as a crucial step in the path to success. Cosgrove got his first taste of leadership as an Air Force surgeon in Vietnam, and he now holds 30 patents for devices that make heart surgery safer. "Most of those came from mistakes that I have made and things that didn't work," says Cosgrove.

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America's Best Leaders 2009

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One question for Jesse and Don (above)...

What have YOU done with your life?

Sitting comfortably and criticizing is easy. Try something hard, like Dr. Cosgrove does every day.

YelangZiDa of FL 5:13PM February 02, 2011

in this crasy world,doctors only think about how to make more money wothout improve their skill.what a pity

jesse of NY 10:15PM November 28, 2009

but most so called doctors I have met consider there customers(not patients) no better than test rats. I say this because I was diagnosed with epilepsy but I only have seizers when under a doctors care. Doctors have did there best to make sure they had job security through me and people like me. They use fear to keep us in line as we have a pre existing condition. Doctors nowadays are as low as a snakes belly and cannot reach a snake to scratch its belly.

If we get health care reform I am hoping and praying that the phonies we have now all quit leaving room for better trained and caring doctors in the future.

Don D. Brock

Don D. Brock of AZ 5:48PM November 28, 2009

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Methodology

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