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Or, perhaps the CEO realizes that the problems she was blaming on her large board were really stemming from something else (what you sort of get at with "alternative ideas"). Perhaps she was not communicating with individual board members as well as she should have been (actually, she certainly wasn't if she spent all that money and time on something that the Board voted down). And maybe changing herself (her management style, or her interactions with people) will make the board size question a pointless one to pursue.

There can be no success if there's no defeat, as long as we learn from it and apply it. But sometimes, something really is just a bad idea. In those cases learning from it means recognizing that perhaps it really "is what it is" and we are the ones who need to change.

That phrase speaks volumes. It is what it is. However, let's not ban the phrase. Let's just ban using it to express defeat. I am a big fan of it when expressing things you actually do have no control over. Like traffic on 66 or weathermen being wrong.

However, I am all for banning the phrase (used as a complete sentence) "I'm just saying..."

I'd much rather see ridiculous phrases like "thought leader" banned, but it is what it is.

Sometimes a cliche is just a cliche---comforting shorthand all of us seem to instinctively understand. As cliches go, "it is what it is" has always struck me as tacit recognition of the status quo---but not necessarily surrender. As a writer, I'm a fan of clear unequivocal language and cliches tend to cloud rather than clarify. John Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead captures it succinctly in his song titled, It Is What It Is:

"If you need an explanation, there's a quick and easy answer
Stop thinking for a moment and give this one a try
'Cause it is what it is, what it is, what it is, what it is."

Another thought is that sometimes no means no.

When the Board voted they didn't want a governance change, they might really mean it. If the CEO then proceeds to redesign the exact concept and presents it over and over the Board's perception might next be that she's incapable of listening or has a personal agenda at odds with their agenda.

Agree looking at what else might be the problem a logical next step. Start with the Nominating Committee, then how many serving lengthy terms on committees, then the planning process, then the budget process, and impact of personnel committee if for anyone other than the CEO. Often the real issue is not the size of the Board.

If you don't like "it is what it is"; how about Kenny Rogers: "You got to know when to hold, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run."

"It is what it is" is sometimes a gentler way of saying "it's a reality that isn't going to change - deal with it." To Scott's point, it shouldn't be a statement of resignation or used indiscriminately. Instead, it should be used to acknowledge what elements of the problem are incontrovertible. Or, as someone once phrased it, "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

I believe that stating "it is what it is" mean we have a starting point. My Myers Briggs outcome is what it is, and it is what I choose to do about it that matters. A committee gets out of control. Stating it is what it is, means we have defined it and now can seek workarounds or solutions or alternative methods of dealing with it.

Stating it is what it is, to me, is a way of defining the problem or the circumstance. It does not mean accepting defeat.