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PODCAST

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

My Favorite Mistake is a podcast about learning without blame in business and leadership. Despite the name, 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. Hosted by author and consultant Mark Graban, each episode features honest conversations with leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and changemakers about a meaningful mistake they made—and what they learned after things went wrong. How they responded. How they improved

business management

All Episodes

3:58

The HR Tool That Accidentally Fired Everyone -...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2026/01/08

In this week’s Mistake of the Week, a company’s HR team accidentally sent a mass termination email to the entire workforce — including the CEO. The culprit was an offboarding automation tool left in the wrong mode, turning a routine test into a company-wide panic.Mark Graban explores what this moment teaches about automation, human fallibility, and the danger of relying on memory in systems that affect people’s livelihoods. Instead of asking, “Who pressed the wrong button?”, the real question is,

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46:34

Startup Mistakes That Linger: Jason Sherman on...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2026/01/05

In this episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban talks with Jason Sherman, an entrepreneur, startup advisor, and educator, about the early startup mistakes that quietly shape everything that follows.Episode page with transcript, video, and more Jason shares hard-earned lessons about choosing co-founders, distinguishing “smart money” from money alone, and why MVPs should accelerate learning rather than encourage overbuilding. The conversation explores judgment, incentives, and alignment through a

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5:19

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail: Willpower vs. System...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2026/01/01

Why do New Year’s resolutions fail so predictably—and what does that teach us about change at work? In this Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban explores why treating change as a test of willpower is a reliable setup for frustration, both personally and in organizations.Drawing on behavioral psychology and leadership examples, the episode connects failed personal resolutions to common organizational mistakes: big announcements, ambitious targets, and too little attention to system design and

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3:53

Nick Saban’s “Dumbest” Call—and Why His Players Loved It

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/27

Nick Saban calls it “the dumbest decision I ever made” — a fourth-and-one call from the 2001 SEC Championship Game that still sticks with him.In this episode, Mark Graban breaks down why even the greatest coaches make mistakes, what Saban learned from the moment, and how leaders can turn high-pressure missteps into opportunities for trust and growth. Perfect for listeners interested in leadership, football, coaching, and the psychology of mistakes.

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4:19

The Christmas Song That Wasn’t: The Surprising...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/18

Jingle Bells is one of the most recognizable Christmas songs ever written… except it wasn’t written for Christmas at all. In this week’s Mistake of the Week, we unpack one of America’s most enduring cultural misconceptions: the belief that Jingle Bells has anything to do with Christmas.Originally titled One Horse Open Sleigh, the song debuted at a Thanksgiving church service in the 1850s and was inspired not by Santa or reindeer, but by noisy, fast sleigh races in Medford, Massachusetts. No

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42:16

From Medicare Fraud to Military Leadership: Dr. Josh...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/15

In Episode #332 of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban talks with Dr. Josh McConkey — emergency physician, Air Force Reserve Commander, combat-deployed medevac leader, and Pulitzer Prize–nominated author. Known as the “MacGyver Doc,” Josh has spent his career solving problems in high-pressure environments where you rarely get a second chance.Episode page with links, video, transcript, and more Josh shares the most painful mistake of his professional life: entering a business partnership without doing

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4:21

The Lab Mix-Up That Led to an Unnecessary Surgery -...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/11

A 32-year-old woman in Switzerland underwent an unnecessary surgery after her lab sample was mixed up at Basel University Hospital. Doctors believed she had cervical cancer. She didn’t — but the procedure went ahead anyway, potentially affecting her ability to carry a pregnancy in the future. In this Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban unpacks how such devastating but preventable errors happen — and why “being careful” isn’t a real safeguard. Drawing on past lab mix-ups he’s written about, Mark

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57:28

Recovering from Bullying at Work: Insights from TV...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/08

My guest for Episode #331 of My Favorite Mistake is Andy Regal, a longtime media executive whose career has included leadership roles at The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Consumer Reports, Court TV, and CBS College Sports. He is also the author of the forthcoming book, “Surviving Bully Culture: A Career Spent Navigating Workplace Bullying and a Guide for Healing.”Episode page with transcript, video, and more Andy shares a remarkable early-career mistake from his time producing NBC News war coverage

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4:36

“Configured in the Appropriate Manner?” — The Landing...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/04

In this Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban breaks down an incident involving an American Airlines A319 on final approach to Phoenix — captured on video with its landing gear still up. A cockpit alert sounded, the crew realized what was missing, and the pilots executed a safe go-around. Their explanation to air traffic control? A perfectly understated: “It wasn’t configured in the appropriate manner.”Mark explores why these near-misses are less about individual oversight and more about systems built

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40:47

Why Curiosity Drives Better Leadership: Debra Clary...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/12/01

My guest for Episode #330 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Debra Clary, a leadership strategist, researcher, and executive coach with more than four decades of experience at organizations including Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel’s, and Humana. Episode page with video, transcript, and more She’s also a TEDx speaker, former off-Broadway performer, and the author of the new book The Curiosity Curve: A Leader’s Guide to Growth and Transformation Through Bold Questions. In this episode, Debra

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41:58

From Toxic Culture to Empathic Leadership: How Dr....

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/11/24

My guest for Episode #329 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Melissa Robinson-Winemiller, a TEDx speaker, empathy and leadership expert, and author of The Empathic Leader: How EQ via Empathy Transforms Leadership for Better Profit, Productivity, and Innovation.Episode page with video, transcript, and more Melissa shares the story of her “favorite mistake” — leaving her music and academic career after experiencing a toxic culture and institutional failure to protect her following an

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4:06

Mistake of the Week: Unlearning Old Habits on the...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/11/20

In this edition of Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban tells a story that didn’t appear in any safety report or headline — it happened on a pickleball court. Early in learning the sport, Mark found his old tennis instincts taking over, leading to a very incorrect serve and a moment of embarrassment. What followed was a small but meaningful lesson in feedback, psychological safety, and the challenge of unlearning deeply wired habits.Supportive coaching, timely correction, and a friendly playing

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3:40

Mistake of the Week: The 531 Patients Who Weren’t...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/11/13

In this week’s Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban tells the story of a Maine hospital system that accidentally mailed condolence letters to 531 very-much-alive patients. The cause? A computer glitch — and a few missing fail-safes. Mark explores what this bizarre mix-up reveals about system design, automation, and trust in healthcare. Beyond the absurd headline lies a familiar pattern: when we blame people instead of learning from process failures, we guarantee more mistakes. So what does “fully

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39:35

Looking Back: Katie Anderson & Isao Yoshino on...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/10/27

We’re going back to Episode 30 from January 2021, featuring Katie Anderson — author of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn — and Isao Yoshino, the longtime Toyota leader whose career and lessons inspired her book.Episode page with video, transcript, and more It was such a privilege to talk with them then, and even more meaningful now, because I recently got to spend time with Mr. Yoshino in Japan last October during Katie’s Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn experience. Seeing him there — humble,

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42:03

From the Wrong Business to the Right Voice: Emily...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/10/20

My guest for Episode #328 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Emily Aborn, a small business copywriter, speaker, and host of the Small Business Casual podcast.Episode page with video, transcript, and more Emily helps entrepreneurs bring clarity, creativity, and authenticity to their marketing. Before finding her true calling, she owned a brick-and-mortar organic mattress store—a business that looked great on paper but didn’t align with her passions or strengths. Emily shares how this

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43:16

Can AI Be Humble? Maya Ackerman on What Machines...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/10/13

My guest for Episode #327 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Maya Ackerman, AI pioneer, researcher, and CEO of WaveAI. She’s also an associate professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara University and the author of the new book Creative Machines: AI, Art, and Us.EPISODE PAGE WITH VIDEO, TRANSCRIPT, AND MORE In this episode, Maya shares her favorite mistake — one that changed how she builds technology and thinks about creativity. Early in her journey as an entrepreneur,

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47:24

Trust, Leadership, and Learning From Mistakes:...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/10/06

My guest for Episode #326 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. William Harvey, a manufacturing executive and university professor whose career is defined by developing people, strengthening systems, and driving organizational excellence. A proud U.S. Marine, William carries forward a deep tradition of service and leadership. He also serves as the chair for the 2026 AME International Conference in Milwaukee, hosted by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).EPISODE PAGE WITH VIDEO

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36:13

Archives: From Shame to Self-Awareness — A Leadership...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/09/29

In this bonus re-release, we revisit an important and timely conversation with Sabrina Moon, Founder and CEO of The Problem Solving Institute and a certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator.Originally aired as Episode #35 of My Favorite Mistake, this conversation remains one of the most powerful and honest reflections on leadership, shame, and transformation. Episode page with transcript and more 🔍 What You’ll Hear: Sabrina’s “favorite mistake” — using shame as a leadership tool in high-stress

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39:01

Failing My Way to Success: Phillip Cantrell on...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/09/22

My guest for Episode #325 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Phillip Cantrell, EVP of Strategy at United Real Estate, founder of Benchmark Realty, and author of Failing My Way to Success: Lessons from 42 Years of Winning and Losing in Business.EPISODE PAGE WITH VIDEO, TRANSCRIPT, AND MORE Phillip reflects on more than four decades of entrepreneurial ups and downs across printing, real estate, and related ventures. He openly shares how devastating mistakes—including putting “all his eggs in

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13:40

Spinal Tap’s Greatest Mistakes — And Why They Still...

My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in... ·

2025/09/15

In this very special solo episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban breaks down the gloriously ridiculous — and surprisingly instructive — mistakes made by the characters in his all-time favorite film, This Is Spinal Tap.With the long-awaited sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, now in theaters, Mark explores why Spinal Tap endures not just as a cult comedy classic, but as a brilliant satire of human behavior, team dysfunction, communication breakdowns, and leadership gone sideways. And yes

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115 results

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