Mark Graban

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

Business EN ↓ 402 episodes

My Favorite Mistake is a podcast about learning without blame in business and leadership. Hosted by Mark Graban, the show features honest conversations with leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and changemakers about a meaningful mistake they made—and what they learned after things went wrong. It’s not just my favorite mistake; it’s yours, it’s ours, and it’s what we can all learn from when things don’t go as planned. This isn’t a podcast about failure theater, gotcha moments, or simplistic “lessons learned.” It explores how real people reflect, improve, and lead better in complex organizations...

Author

Mark Graban

Episodes

Could She Fix a Bullying Narcissist?: Phyllis Quinlan, PhD, RN 18.03.2021 35:57

Nurse executive, consulting CEO, author of Bringing Shadow Behavior into the Light of Day Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake50 My guest for Episode #50 is Phyllis Quinlan, PhD, RN . She is a nurse executive and she is also the CEO of MFW Consultants to Professionals . Phyllis has a BSN in Nursing and a Ph. D. in Healthcare Administration. She is the author of many books, including her...

A Future Cybersecurity Expert Hacking His College’s Grading System: Neil Daswani 15.03.2021 37:05

Author of Big Breaches: Cybersecurity Lessons for Everyone Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake49 My guest for Episode #49 is Neil Daswani, the author of the newly-released book, Big Breaches: Cybersecurity Lessons for Everyone. Enter to win a free signed copy! Neil is, among other things, a Co-Director of the Stanford Advanced Security Program, and he earned a PhD in computer science f...

Two Bosses Who Didn’t Like Each Other: Lori Baker-Schena 11.03.2021 36:30

Co-founder of LeadHERship Consortium, LLC Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake48 My guest for Episode #48 is Lori-Baker Schena , a professional speaker and leadership consultant based in Southern California. She has a PhD in organizational leadership and is a co-founder of the LeaderHERship Consortium . She is currently on her third career. She was a journalist and PR person, then a prof...

Mike Smerklo: Fear, Self-Doubt, and the Monkey in His Head 08.03.2021 29:29

Managing director of Next Coast Ventures Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake47 My guest for Episode #47 is Mike Smerklo . He is an entrepreneur, an investor, he’s the co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures . He was one of the first employees at Loudcloud, recruited there by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. in 2003, he purchased ServiceSource, a 30-person technology ser...

Pam Hopman: Burnout, Doing It All Herself, and Learning to Scale 04.03.2021 28:28

Financial advisor and CEO of The Hopman Group UPDATE (November 2022): The links to Pam's LinkedIn page and her business website no longer work. It was called to my attention that Pam is under investigation for allegedly recommending an investment that has been described as a “Ponzi scheme” in a news report and law firm websites . “I have been told many times, now it’s a lost cause,” Bryant said. “...

Eric Twiggs: Realizing a New Job Was a Mistake on Day One 28.02.2021 33:31

Author, podcast host, Coach, and more Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake45 My guest for Episode #45 is Eric M. Twiggs, the host of the podcast called The 30 Minute Hour. I was his guest in this episode last month, so please take a listen. I've really enjoyed both conversations with him! Eric is a founding partner and president of The What Now Movement. His mission is to build high perf...

Interviewing Poorly and Failing To Get The Job, Twice! Terry McDougall 25.02.2021 34:18

Executive coach, author of Winning the Game of Work: Career Happiness and Success on Your Own Terms. Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake44 My guest for Episode #44 is Terry McDougall. She is an executive and career coach, speaker and best-selling author of Winning the Game of Work: Career Happiness and Success on Your Own Terms. After 30 years of corporate business experience, 15 of whi...

Dave Raymond: The Phillie Phanatic, a Big Mistake, and the Power of Fun 22.02.2021 40:50

The original Phillie Phanatic (1978-1993), Author of "The Power of Fun" Notes & enter to win a signed copy of his book: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake43 My guest for Episode #43 is Dave Raymond , author of the book The Power of Fun . So what does Dave know about fun? He's had an incredibly fun career. For one, he was a somewhat accidental pioneer as a sports mascot — he was the first perso...

Being Surprised by Losing Her Consulting Role: Kristie Tobias 18.02.2021 33:49

Author of the new book Fearlessly Made You: Surviving and Thriving in a Perfectly Imperfect Life . Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake42 My guest for Episode #42 is Kristie Tobias , author of the new book Fearlessly Made You: Surviving and Thriving in a Perfectly Imperfect Life . You can learn more about Kristie and the book via the book's website . Kristie Tobias is a Consultant with H...

Adam Lawrence: Questioning a Leader’s Commitment Was a Mistake 15.02.2021 27:37

Author of The Wheel of Sustainability Episode page with transcript, links, and more -- https://www.markgraban.com/mistake41 My guest for Episode #41 is Adam Lawrence, from his firm Process Improvement Partners. He is the author of the new book The Wheel of Sustainability: Engaging and Empowering Teams to Produce Lasting Results. You can also find a longer interview that I did with Adam about the c...

Krista Hughes: Learning to Be a Stronger Patient Advocate 10.02.2021 35:40

CEO of Hughes Advocacy, Birmingham, Alabama Show notes: ⁠https://www.markgraban.com/mistake40⁠ My guest for Episode #40 is ⁠Krista Hughes⁠ , the CEO of her company ⁠Hughes Advocacy⁠ , a private patient advocacy firm that helps patients and their families navigate the health care system and get the best medical care possible. She has over 25 years of experience working in the medical industry for F...

Matthew E. May: Leaving His MBA Career to Pursue Acting 08.02.2021 27:11

Multi-best-selling author, former University of Toyota instructor, chief strategy at Stratechia Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake39 My guest for Episode #39 is my friend Matt May , he's a multi-best-selling author and he's Chief Strategist with his firm Stratechia . I've known Matt for a long time as a former University of Toyota educator, a Wharton graduate, and an amazing author. I'...

Brenden Kumarasamy: Emailing 40,000 Professors—and What He Learned 04.02.2021 21:59

Founder of Mastertalk, based in Montreal Show notes and more: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake38 My guest for Episode #38 is Brenden Kumarasamy , and he is the founder of MasterTalk , a YouTube channel that he started to help the world master the art of public speaking. Today, we talk about his favorite mistake, when he sent 40,000 emails out to “every professor” in Canada… and that did not go w...

Not Listening to Her Intuition and Wasting $23,000: Monica M. Bijoux 01.02.2021 32:14

CEO of "Decide to Move," military veteran, coach, author, and podcaster https://www.markgraban.com/mistake37 My guest for Episode #37 of " My Favorite Mistake " is Monica M. Bijoux , the founder and CEO of DECIDE TO MOVE . She has been coaching business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals for almost 20 years. As a veteran herself, she has been working with veterans as they transition from activ...

Thinking He Could Sell His Way to Profitability with Stephen King 28.01.2021 33:52

Founder, President, CEO of GrowthForce . Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake36 My guest for Episode #36 of "My Favorite Mistake" is Stephen King... no, not that Stephen King... but the Stephen King who is founder, President, CEO of GrowthForce , one of the nation’s largest outsourced bookkeeping, accounting and controller service for companies and non profits that use QuickBooks. He is...

Using Shame as a Leadership Tool with Sabrina Moon 25.01.2021 35:22

Engineer, founder & CEO of the Problem Solving Institute Show notes and more: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake35 Joining me for Episode #35 is Sabrina Moon , founder & CEO of the Problem Solving Institute . She's an engineer and a certified Dare to Lead ™ facilitator. Today, we talk about her favorite mistake of using shame as a leadership tool, and we discuss what we were exposed to in...

Mistakes Running a Chiropractic Practice with Dr. Kelly Henry 21.01.2021 31:10

Chiropractor, entrepreneur, consultant, and author https://www.markgraban.com/mistake34 Joining me for Episode #34 is Dr. Kelly Henry , a chiropractor who has owned clinics, but now helps others in his role as "The Customer Experience Doctor." He is also the author of the newly-released book Define and Deliver Exceptional Customer Service: Proven strategies to maximize your profits . The book is c...

Billy Taylor (Bonus): Standards, Respect for People, and Leading Without Compromise 20.01.2021 29:25

Billy was our guest on Episode #5 and it's our most-listened-to episode by far (by a factor of 5X). I hosted Billy Taylor on LinkedIn Live today, to do a "watch party" of his episode, followed by some additional conversation and I'm sharing that audio here. See the recording of the watch party and the follow up conversation . Billy's company: http://linkedxl.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://...

A CEO Mistakes in Filmmaking and College Basketball with ”Filmpreneur” Forrest Tuff 18.01.2021 27:55

Forrest Tuff , the founder and CEO of One Vision Productions , professional speaker, business coach, author. Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake33 Joining me for Episode #33 is Forrest Tuff , the founder and CEO of One Vision Productions , an award-winning, multimedia production company. He does so many things... Forrest is a creative person who is also business savvy (he calls himself...

Michele Parrish: Not Pushing Back on the Client’s Framing of the Problem 14.01.2021 27:42

Consultant, founder and managing partner of Parrish Partners... MIT Leaders for Global Operations alum. Show Notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake32 Please subscribe, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser ! Click here to enter to win a free “My Favorite Mistake” coffee mug! Joining me for Episode #32 is Michele Parrish . She is a consultant and she is founder and managing partner of...

Five Mistakes That Shaped an ER Doctor Turned Startup CEO 11.01.2021 39:43

Emergency physician and CEO of KaiNexus, a technology company in Austin, TX Show notes https://www.markgraban.com/mistake31 Click here to enter to win a free "My Favorite Mistake" coffee mug! Joining me for Episode #31 is Dr. Greg Jacobson , an emergency medicine physician and the CEO/co-founder of KaiNexus , a technology and software company. In the interest of full disclosure, I will mention tha...

Learning from Mistakes at Toyota with Katie Anderson and Isao Yoshino 07.01.2021 37:38

Toyota veteran Yoshino and business consultant Anderson... Japanese and American learning together. Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake30 Enter to win a free "My Favorite Mistake" coffee mug ! (through Jan 22) Joining me for Episode #30 is Katie Anderson , the author of the book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learn...

Not Knowing Who She Wanted to Work With: Kim Thompson-Pinder 04.01.2021 28:12

"The extraordinary word ninja" - author, publisher, book coach... Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake29 Joining me for Episode #29 is Kim Thompson-Pinder and she calls herself the “the extraordinary word ninja." Kim is Owner/Chief Visionary Officer at RTI Publishing House , and she is the author of five books. Her most recent title, being released soon, is Author to Authority ( click fo...

Actor Mark Teich: Why Following Others Held Him Back—and What Finally Changed 21.12.2020 37:57

Actor, comedian, writer, director... entertainer Mark Teich Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake28 Joining me for Episode #28 is Mark Teich , an actor , comedian, writer, and director. Mark and I were high school classmates, both graduating from Livonia (MI) Churchill High School in 1991. I played drums in the pit orchestra for at least four musicals that Mark acted, sang, and danced in...

Making Business Decisions Out of Ego with Trav Bell 17.12.2020 32:56

Australian, coach, "bucket listologist" Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake27 Please subscribe, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser ! We also have a new Facebook page for the podcast . Joining me for Episode #27 is Travis (Trav) Bell , coming to us from Victoria, Australia. He's not our first guest from Australia, but he is our first Aussie accent! Trav is a self-appointed...