My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

In this special episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban celebrates the kickoff of football season with a unique perspective: five legendary kickers who know what it means to perform under pressure. Guests include former NFL kickers Jay Feely, Shane Graham, David Akers, Nick Lowry, and University of South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer Parker White. These athletes share their most memo...

My guest for Episode #323 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Grace Bourke , Consulting Director of the Performance Excellence Practice at Baker Tilly. With nearly 40 years of experience in healthcare quality improvement and industrial engineering, Grace has worked in clinical care, biotech, global public health, and senior leadership roles at organizations including Kaiser Permanente and Sutte...

My guest for Episode #322 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Rob Dorgan , a multi-talented professional whose career path has taken him from paralegal to college professor, retail store owner, manufacturing company president, and now licensed massage therapist, certified yoga educator, meditation teacher, and astrologer. Rob is also the author of Awakening the Mystic: A Novel of Cosmic Love an...

My guest for Episode #321 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Cynthia Kane , founder and CEO of the Kane Intentional Communication Institute and author of several books, including How to Communicate Like a Buddhist and The Pause: How to Keep Your Cool in Tough Situations . Episode page with video and more Cynthia shares a pivotal mistake from early in her life: letting other people’s opinions m...

🎙️ In this bonus episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban welcomes back Dr. Jen Heemstra, Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Jen joins us to talk about her new book, Lab Work to Leadership: A Concise Guide to Thriving in the Science Job You Weren’t Trained For. She shares how the book was inspired by her favorite mistake—realizing that a...

My guest for Episode #320 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Damon Lembi , CEO of Learnit , a live learning and development platform that has helped upskill over 2 million professionals. Episode page with video, transcript, and more A former college baseball player and now a two-time bestselling author , Damon shares the story of how youthful ambition and overconfidence led him to push Learnit...

My guest for Episode #319 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Sapna Pieroux , award-winning author of Let’s Get Visible! , a branding consultant, and the founder of Inner Visions ID . Episode page with video, transcript, and more With a background spanning 20 years in media and experience working with major brands like Toyota, Sony, and L’Oréal, Sapna shares the defining mistake that led her to...

My guest for Episode #318 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Matthew Neal Davis , an attorney, entrepreneur, and author of the provocative book The Art of Preventing Stupid . Episode page with video and more Matthew is the founder and managing partner of Davis Business Law, which has grown more than 1,000% in six years, earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list. In addition to running a multi-offic...

My guest for Episode #316 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Davina Frederick , founder of Wealthy Woman Lawyer , host of the Wealthy Woman Lawyer Podcast , and a business coach who has helped women law firm owners scale their practices to seven figures and beyond. Episode page with video, transcript, and more In our conversation, Davina shares why going to law school—an unconventional move at...

My guest for Episode #316 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Jim Schleckser , founder and CEO of The CEO Project . Episode page with video, transcript, and more Jim is a seasoned business leader, bestselling author, and trusted advisor to CEOs around the world. With experience spanning 42 countries and multiple industries, Jim has spent decades helping leaders grow their companies and think mo...

My guest for Episode #315 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kat Halushka , a business and visibility strategist for coaches, consultants, and speakers. She’s the founder of Profitable Impact Academy , where she helps entrepreneurs grow their audience, automate marketing, and land clients through speaking and streamlined funnels. EPISODE PAGE Kat’s favorite mistake? She followed the classic ad...

In this special bonus episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban welcomes back Josh Cunningham, founder and CEO of Rokrbox and guest from Episode 244. Josh returns to share insights from his brand-new book, Culture Is the Key: How to Unlock Massive Profits and Freedom . We dive into: How Josh built a culture-first company that’s thriving—even in a tough real estate market Why cutting costs d...

My guest for Episode #314 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Mark Struczewski , also known as “ Mister Productivity .” Mark is a Houston-based productivity coach, speaker, and host of The Mister Productivity Podcast , with over 1,300 episodes to his name. He helps overwhelmed professionals cut through distractions and focus on what truly matters. Episode page with video, transcript, and more B...

My guest for Episode #313 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Amber Gaige , a marketing strategist, international bestselling author, and founder of Far Beyond Marketing . With over 20 years of experience, Amber helps entrepreneurs simplify their marketing and drive real results. She’s also the author of The Far Beyond Marketing Guidebook: Stop Being Duped by Bad Marketing , and the creator of...

OOPS! Due to an editing mistake, I had to reupload the file. Again. My guest for Episode #312 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Jared Redick , a third-generation ballet dancer, choreographer, and award-winning educator. Episode page with links and more Jared is a full professor and Assistant Dean of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has performed with renowned co...

My guest for Episode #311 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Karin Hurt , CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders , a global leadership development firm. Karin is a former Verizon Wireless executive and the award-winning author of five books, including her latest, Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict . Episode page with video, transcript, and more In this episode, she shares a deeply persona...

My guest for Episode #310 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Andrew Laws , Founder of the SEO agency Yeseo IO and host of The Business Amplifier Podcast . Andrew has been working in digital marketing for over 25 years and has seen just about every shift in the SEO landscape. But one of the biggest lessons of his career came not from Google’s algorithm, but from a catastrophic business event in...

In this special bonus episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban talks again with Andrea Jones, Principal at AJC and CEO of The Executagility Company . Andrea was previously featured in Episode 105 , and she returns to discuss the release of her new book: The Executagility Field Guide: How Busy Teams Can Execute Growth Plans. Andrea shares a new “favorite mistake” involving lost data from a Typef...

My guest for Episode #309 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is La Tonya Roberts, the founder and CEO of Harmony Consulting Group . La Tonya is a fractional COO, HR consultant, and executive coach who helps women entrepreneurs scale their service-based businesses from six to seven figures through systems, strategic planning, and operational excellence. Before launching her firm, she built her car...

My guest for Episode #308 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is C.J. Stewart , co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer at the LEAD Center for Youth , an Atlanta-based nonprofit focused on empowering Black youth through sports-based development. Before dedicating his life to mentorship and advocacy, C.J. was drafted twice by the Chicago Cubs and built a successful career as a professional hitting i...

In this bonus episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban welcomes back Dr. Thom Mayer , the longtime Medical Director for the NFL Players Association. Thom previously joined us in catch up on his original episode here 🌐 Learn more about Dr. Mayer and his work with the NFLPA 💡 Subscribe at MarkGraban.com/mistake

My guest for Episode #307 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Terry Whalin , an accomplished editor and author of more than 60 books, several of which have sold over 100,000 copies. Terry is the owner of Whalin and Associates, a communications firm, and he serves as an acquisitions editor for Morgan James Publishing. Drawing from decades of experience in both writing and publishing, Terry share...

My guest for Episode #306 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Betsy Pepine , a serial entrepreneur in real estate and the founder of Pepine Realty. Betsy leads a top-producing real estate team consistently recognized by The Wall Street Journal and has built a family of companies that includes a property management firm, title company, real estate school, and a nonprofit. EPISODE PAGE WITH VIDEO...

My guest for Episode #305 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is John Willson , Executive Director of SOAR , the world’s premier outdoor adventure program serving youth with ADHD and learning disabilities. Episode page with video and more With over 30 years of experience, John is a passionate advocate for experiential education and life skills development through structured, strengths-based enviro...

My guest for Episode #304 of the  My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Tia Warrick , a clinical research leader, epidemiologist, author, and entrepreneur who has spent nearly a decade working in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Episode page with video, transcript, and more She’s the founder of Lesous Consulting , a firm dedicated to supporting clinical research professionals and organizati...