-- Develop processes to manage change. While few businesses suffer the level of IT catastrophe that befell The Bank of New York, all businesses change over time.

-- Build a culture that emphasizes technology risk management. "There needs to be a strong emphasis on quality of technical design that considers the business dynamics and how engineers need to design for mitigating the risks those business dynamics create," says Woetzel.

-- Keep your staff aware of these principles. Woetzel frequently uses the example of that fateful 1985 day. "There's nothing like a real-life example to help people focus," he says.