My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

Public Health Shouldn’t Be Political — A Career “Mistake” That Changed Everything | Dr. Tyler Evans

In this episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban talks with Dr. Tyler B. Evans, infectious diseases and addiction medicine physician, public health leader, and author of Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics.
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Dr. Evans shares a deeply personal “mistake” — giving up his dream of working in global health abroad to take what he thought was a conventional job in the United States. That decision led him to work with Native American communities in Wyoming, build refugee health programs in New York, and serve in leadership roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. What initially felt like a detour ultimately shaped his career and mission.
The conversation explores the politicization of public health, the erosion of trust in expertise, and why solidarity among healthcare professionals may be essential to restoring confidence. Dr. Evans reflects on lessons from seatbelt laws, smoking reduction, and pandemic response — and why public health measures are fundamentally about protecting communities, not restricting individuals.
They also discuss how scientific understanding evolves, how leaders can communicate uncertainty responsibly, and why learning — not blame — must guide how we respond to mistakes.

When a Water Leak Turns a Street Into Ice: Mistake of the Week

A forgotten water heater tap led to an overnight leak, an unexpected ice rink, and a reminder that the real lesson isn’t about blame — it’s about designing systems that catch small mistakes before they spread.
A small, human slip led to a big, icy problem in a neighborhood in northwest China. After a woman forgot to turn off the tap on her solar water heater, water flowed unnoticed for nine hours — and overnight temperatures turned the street outside into an accidental skating rink.
In this episode of Mistake of the Week, we look past blame and shame to ask a better question: why did the system require perfect memory, instead of detecting the problem or shutting itself off?
It’s a story about water leaks, design flaws, and how small mistakes can spread when systems aren’t built to catch them early — along with practical lessons for our own homes about alarms, automatic shutoffs, and mistake-proofing everyday risks.
Source news story

Confusing Performance with Alignment — A Leadership Mistake That Causes Burnout, with Genevieve Skory

In Episode 339 of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban talks with Genevieve Skory, executive coach and former Chief Field Development Officer, about a leadership mistake that many high performers make: confusing performance with alignment.
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For years, Genevieve defined winning by revenue and results. Pressure was normal. Constant pivoting felt strategic. Intensity was rewarded. The numbers came in — but so did exhaustion, turnover, and a culture operating in fight-or-flight mode.
In this conversation, we explore the hidden cost of performance-at-all-costs leadership, the neuroscience behind fear-driven decision-making, and why teams don’t always tell leaders the truth when the environment feels unsafe. Genevieve shares what changed for her and how she now helps ambitious leaders build sustainable success without burnout.
If you’ve ever sensed that strong results were masking deeper misalignment, this episode will resonate.

Olympic Medals That Couldn’t Handle the Celebration | Mistake of the Week

After winning gold at the Winter Olympics, skier Breezy Johnson did what champions do — she jumped for joy.
And her medal fell off.
She later joked, “Don’t jump in them… I was jumping in excitement and it broke,” adding that it was “not, like, crazy broken. But, a little broken.” Other athletes experienced similar ribbon failures during their celebrations.
In this episode of Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban looks at what happens when a system fails during the very moment it’s designed to support — and why it’s encouraging that Olympic officials acknowledged the problem instead of blaming the athletes.
Because if your medal can’t survive celebration… what exactly was it tested for?
This episode explores:
Designing for real human behavior (including joy)
The importance of testing under realistic conditions
Why admitting a flaw beats assigning blame
What organizations can learn from a broken ribbon

I Made a Marine Cry: Leadership, Authority, and Learning from Mistakes | Olaolu Ogunyemi

What happens when a leader realizes their approach caused real harm?
In this episode of My Favorite Mistake, U.S. Marine Corps officer and leadership mentor Olaolu Ogunyemi shares a defining moment early in his career—recognizing that his leadership style, while well-intended, crossed a line and made a Marine cry.
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Rather than defending his authority, Olaolu reflects on the gap between intent and impact, and how that moment forced him to rethink what effective leadership really looks like. We talk about learning from mistakes, the difference between fear-based compliance and true accountability, and why psychological safety is essential—even (and especially) in high-pressure environments like the military.
This conversation explores how leaders grow when they confront mistakes honestly, respond with humility, and commit to changing their behavior—not just their words.

When Diesel Ends Up Where It Shouldn’t — Mistake of the Week:

Most of us pull up to a gas pump on autopilot—until something goes wrong.
In this Mistake of the Week, host Mark Graban looks at a real-world systems failure that affected hundreds of drivers across the Denver metro area. Due to an upstream error at a fuel terminal, diesel fuel was mistakenly delivered into the gasoline supply—leading to stalled cars, tow trucks, and costly repairs.
Instead of rushing to blame or punishment, Colorado regulators emphasized learning, investigation, and prevention. That response matters—and it offers an important lesson about mistake-proofing, system design, and leadership.
In this episode, Mark explores:
Why focusing on who made the mistake misses the real problem
How mistake-proofing works—and where it often fails
Why downstream safeguards can’t fix upstream system errors
What leaders can learn from choosing curiosity over blame
Mistakes like this are disruptive and expensive—but they also create an opportunity to improve systems so the same error doesn’t happen again.

Ray Zinn: Why Repeating the Same Mistake Is the Real Failure in Leadership

Ray Zinn—longtime CEO of Micrel Semiconductor and the longest-serving CEO of a publicly traded company in Silicon Valley history—doesn’t believe the real problem is making mistakes.
He believes the real failure is repeating the same mistake without fixing it.
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In this episode of My Favorite Mistake, Ray shares leadership lessons from nearly four decades running Micrel, including why popular slogans like “fail fast, fail often” can actually normalize bad habits, how leaders unintentionally punish learning, and what it takes to build a culture focused on honesty, accountability, and fast problem-solving instead of blame.
Ray also reflects on how losing his eyesight in his late 50s fundamentally changed the way he led—forcing him to listen more deeply, trust others more fully, and become a more empathetic leader. Those experiences shaped his approach to leadership and his latest book, The Essential Leader.
If you care about learning from mistakes, building strong cultures, and leading without fear or ego, this conversation will challenge—and sharpen—your thinking.

Undercharging for Consulting: Amy Rasdal on Fear, Pricing, and Knowing Your Worth

What happens when you know your value—but say a lower number anyway?
In this episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban is joined by Amy Rasdal, founder of Billable at the Beach and author of Land a Consulting Project Now. Amy shares her favorite mistake from the early days of consulting: undercharging for her work because of fear, even when she knew she was worth more.
Amy explains how that moment became a “gateway mistake,” leading her to better understand pricing, confidence, and the hidden beliefs that hold many accomplished professionals back. The conversation explores why undercharging is so common, how fear shows up in pricing conversations, and why selling out your time at a discount can quietly limit long-term success.
This episode is especially relevant for consultants, freelancers, and professionals considering a move from corporate life into independent work.
🔗 Full show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake336

Releasing the Wrong Body Is Not Just “Human Error” - Mistake of the Week

A devastating hospital mistake in Glasgow was described by leaders as “human error,” even as they acknowledged that “very rigorous processes” were not followed.
In this episode of The Mistake of the Week, Mark Graban examines why suspensions and discipline don’t guarantee improvement — and how gaps between written procedures and real work create hidden risk.
Punishment may feel like accountability, but without fixing the system, the same harm remains possible.

How Buying an Oil Tanker Became My Favorite Mistake — Kevin Hipes

What happens when a business deal looks solid on paper—but falls apart in real life?
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My guest for Episode #335 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kevin Hipes, an entrepreneur, author, and former city commissioner who’s been called the “New York Forrest Gump” because of the many lives he’s lived.
Kevin shares the story of one of his biggest—and most unforgettable—business mistakes: buying an oil tanker in the Caribbean. What began as a seemingly foolproof investment with a strong pro forma turned into a cascade of unexpected challenges, including regulatory changes, ethical dilemmas, geopolitical risk, and international drama.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why smart people still make big business mistakes
How external forces can derail even the best plans
Learning from failure instead of hiding from it
Resilience after financial and emotional setbacks
The importance of mental health awareness for leaders and entrepreneurs
Kevin’s story is funny, sobering, and deeply human—and a powerful reminder that mistakes don’t define us unless we refuse to learn from them.