My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

CEO Rebecca Contreras Talks About Her Mistakes as a Young Woman, Working as a White House Staffer

Episode page: https://markgraban.com/mistake155
My guest for Episode #155 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Rebecca Contreras. She is President & CEO of AvantGarde LLC, an SBA certified 8a and Women Owned Small Business firm she co-founded as Majority Partner in May 2011. Her firm offers a “one stop shop” approach to addressing complex organizational, people and technology needs.
Rebecca Contreras is the author of the book Lost Girl – From the Hood to the White House to Millionaire Entrepreneur, which recounts her journey from becoming a welfare-dependent teenage mother to advising a sitting president, to driving a successful 100-person company.
Rebecca is a social and business entrepreneur who started her fifteen-year service in government in a welfare-to-work program for Texas icon Ann Richards.
Rebecca then spent nearly twelve years working with George W. Bush, first in Texas as his Director of HR then in the White House as a Commissioned Officer supporting the Presidential transition, followed by other roles in D.C.
In today's episode, Rebecca shares her “favorite mistake” story about trying to move past some mistakes she made as a young woman. When she was becoming part of the White House staff, she was open and transparent about her past mistakes — was it a “crapshoot” that might not have turned out well? How did Rebecca move past her early mistakes, including dropping out of high school and becoming a teen mom?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
Mentoring and coaching girls today
When President Bush called you to serve, why did you have imposter syndrome? How did you recognize that and get past it?
West Wing protocol mistakes?
Tell us more about the book
Tell us about your firm… who you serve and how
What is it like being the CEO of a minority- and woman-owned consulting firm working in a male-dominated industry?
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CTO Scott Hirsch Learned That Free Wasn’t the Best Price for His Software

CTO of TalentMarketplace.ca
Episode page: https://markgraban.com/mistake154
My guest for Episode #154 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Scott Hirsch, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at the HR platform Talent Marketplace. With work experience combining business administration and computer science, Scott's passions lie in enabling business processes through the innovative use of technology.
In today's episode, Scott shares his “favorite mistake” story about setting the beta version of their platform as free. They launched the platform for free and “got almost no response.” Once they put a fee to it, clients started coming in, as Scott tells us. How did they decide their initial pricing was a mistake?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
“Freemium model”??
Which way would we rather be wrong?
Hiring challenges right now?
The search for talent in a tight market?
Does the data bring particular insights?
Increase in remote work?
Find Scott or his company on social media:
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
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Psychologist Dr. Nicole Lipkin Had a Bad Feeling But Hired Hope Anyway

CEO, clinical and organizational psychologist
My guest for Episode #153 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Nicole Lipkin, an internationally recognized clinical and organizational psychologist, executive coach, and keynote speaker.
Episode page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake153
Nicole is the author of two popular leadership books: Y In the Workplace: Managing the “Me First” Generation and What Keeps Leaders Up At Night: Recognizing and Resolving Your Most Troubling Management Issues.
She is the CEO of Equilibria Leadership Consulting, a leadership and organizational development firm. In terms of education, she earned a doctoral in clinical psychology (Psy.D.), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Criminal Justice (MACJ). Nicole is also the founder and CEO of HeyKiddo, a company dedicated to helping adults gain better control over their children’s mental, social and emotional health through technology.
She recently exited her first company, Equilibria Psychological and Consultation Services. Nicole is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and has shared her expertise on NPR, NBC, Entrepreneur.com, NY Times Magazine, CBS and other media outlets. She lives in Philly with her husband, Matt, her toddler, Charlie, and her chunky cat, El Guapo Meatball (who makes an appearance in the episode!).
In today's episode, Nicole shares her “favorite mistake” story about having a “bad feeling” but hiring “Hope” (not her real name) anyway. Why was it a “punch in the gut” when Hope quit three months later? Did Nicole feel like she failed as a coach and as a leader? What lessons did she learn from these experiences?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
Is it a mistake to not follow your gut during interviewing or during the first month??
What keeps you up at night? How can we AVOID sleep trouble?
How do we build psychological safety? How much is the leader’s responsibility?
Psychological safety – talking about it vs doing the behaviors??
How different is Gen Y?? Different influences and experiences?
Tell us about Equilibria Leadership Consulting — who is your ideal client and why do they hire you?
Tell us about HeyKiddo — building emotional wellness using technology
Find Nicole on social media:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
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Coach John Gallagher Had the Ego to Think He Could Change His Mother-in-Law Real Estate Partner

Episode page: https://markgraban.com/mistake152
My guest for Episode #152 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is John Gallagher. He is an executive coach, mentor, and consultant. He is the Founder and CEO of Growing Champions, LLC.
He's also the host of the podcast “The Uncommon Leader” — and I was his guest there! He was also previously my guest on my Lean Blog Interviews podcast series.
Before starting his company, John worked as a consultant for a decade, after being an operations manager and a division president for two different companies.
In today's episode, John shares his “favorite mistake” story about the time he got into the real estate business and thought he could change how a key business partner operated. And that partner was his mother-in-law. Why did he make this mistake? How did he adjust and how did he survive?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
What is “Lean”?
Why were you excited about bringing this to real estate?
Focusing on strengths instead of problems?
Having a process when “every home sale is unique”?
Tell us about the podcast…
Common leadership mistakes that you wish were uncommon?
Are they uncommon because they avoid leadership problems or because they have certain strengths?
Being able to admit when they’re wrong… that’s uncommon — humility is required
Creating an environment where it’s safe to talk about mistakes?
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Author & CEO Lauren Eckhardt Chose Business Partners That Didn’t Share her Values

My guest for Episode #151 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Lauren Eckhardt, the CEO and Founder of Burning Soul Press.
Episode page: https://markgraban.com/mistake151
An award-winning, and best-selling author and ghostwriter, she is passionate about helping impact-driven souls capture their life story in a book-led movement that changes lives.
Lauren founded Burning Soul Press in 2020, after 12 years in the human resources field, to work with aspiring and career authors in pursuit of sharing a powerful and deeply impactful story or message.
In today's episode, Lauren shares her “favorite mistake” story working with a business partner that didn't share her values. How did she discover the mistake? How did she repeat the mistake with another company before being able to put this behind her?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
Trying too hard to learn from other entrepreneurs, vs. figuring it out yourself?
“Best seller” — a very loose definition??? Yes
Helping somebody self-publish… doesn’t literally mean “self”
“Empowerment Publishing”
Being a book coach vs full ghostwriter
What’s the origin of the Burning Soul Press name?
Being a good storyteller? A better storyteller??
What is the SoulWriter Society?
Helping somebody write the book and helping them sell the book? Equally important?
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“Confrontationalist” Danielle Gibson Hired a Coach Instead of a Branding Expert

Confrontation expert and coach
My guest for Episode #150 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Danielle Gibson, a Confrontation Expert and a Certified Performance Coach. Her firm is Danielle Gibson Coaching & Consulting.
Episode page: https://markgraban.com/mistake150
Danielle was previously owner and designer at a jewelry company, Danielle Gibson Designs. She earned a degree in Fine Arts and also studied Italian language and literature in Italy.
In today's episode, Danielle shares her "favorite mistake" story about hiring a general coach when she needed a branding expert. How did she discover that to be a mistake? How and why did she end up repeating the mistake? How did she finally put that mistake behind her, never to be repeated again?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
How do you define “confrontation”?? — compared to assertiveness?
“I’m an expert in confrontation.”
Why were you comfortable with confrontation? Family environment?
Lessons learned from your story when hiring a partner??
“What to do when you don’t know what to do”
People are scared about speaking up…
A mistake to tell people to speak up without working to create the environment that invites it? Like in your family…
How to be more direct, especially when there’s a power dynamic?
Mistakes people make when being “confronted” — coaching people to be a better receiver of confrontation?
One of the best ways to give feedback that’s non threatening?
How do you start a conversation if you don’t know what to say?
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Sales Executive Clint Corley Got “Sloppy or Complacent” When Working in Oil & Gas

From KaiNexus
Episode page and links: https://markgraban.com/mistake149
My guest for Episode #149 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Clint Corley, who spent more than five years as a Senior Account Executive at the software company, KaiNexus.
I want to disclose that I've been involved with KaiNexus for more than ten years as a contractor, advisor, and investor.
Clint has BBA Degree in professional sales from Baylor University.
In today's episode, Clint shares his “favorite mistake” story about a time when he was working in oil and gas, in West Texas, early in his career. Did he get “sloppy or complacent” that one time that led to an oil/gas line being hit during a dig. Why was he “grateful” about the response and what did he learn and take forward with him?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
Sales as a process? Lessons learned from your story?
Overselling?
Persistence vs. being a pest?
Bad sales email of the day — things that make it bad
Advice for somebody who stumbles into sales?
Elevator speech about KaiNexus?
The culture at KaiNexus about learning from mistakes?
Find Clint on social media:
Twitter
LinkedIn
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Montessori School Founder Brigitta Hoeferle Was ”Cocky in Telling People How to Do Things”

Episode page and links: https://markgraban.com/mistake148
My guest for Episode #148 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Brigitta Hoeferle, a speaker, master trainer, and certified coach.
She’s the Owner of two educational institutions, founder of one for children and one for adults that she purchased, the Center of NLP.
As she says, she’s “German by birth, American by choice, educator by trade, a speaker & trainer by design, CEO by passion. And Brigitta’s an executive board member of The International Coaching Federation.
Check out her free PDF download on the “laws of success.”
In today's episode, Brigitta shares her “favorite mistake” story about “being cocky in telling people how to do things.” Why was she trying to do things “the German way” in the United States? What did she learn from these mistakes? Why does she view mistakes as learning opportunities?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
What is Montessori education and why is that so important to you?
Teaching vs. running a school? Was a success in Germany…
Difficult to get students in TN?
What were some of the specific mistakes?
What feedback did you get? Was it constructive feedback?
Doer (US) vs. planner (German) mindsets
“There is no failure only feedback” – example of a “re-frame”
Viewing mistakes as learning opportunities
What is NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming?
What is “programming”? What does that word really mean?
Is programming the result of our reaction to other people’s actions?
Re-framing from victim (as a picked-on overweight teen)
Why do we need to “Listen to Relate, not to Respond”?
Re-framing — too many employees quitting, “people don’t want to work anymore” — or a different framing of “you’re not paying well enough, etc.”??
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CEO Ken Segel Talked Frankly to a Reporter When He Was a Congressional Aide

CEO of Value Capture
Show notes: https://markgraban.com/mistake147
My guest for Episode #147 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Ken Segel, the CEO and Managing Director of the firm Value Capture. Value Capture is a trusted advisory firm that supports chief executives who seek to transform the performance of their healthcare organization in safety, quality, and profitability.
In terms of disclosures, I have been a subcontractor to Value Capture for four years, serving as a senior advisor to healthcare clients and, during pandemic times, working as the Director of Strategic Marketing for the firm.
Prior to forming Value Capture, he served as the founding director of the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative (PRHI) and he served for five years as Senior Program Officer at the Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Pittsburgh.
Earlier in his career, worked in government and politics, with various roles including directing the overnight operations in the 1992 Clinton-Gore presidential campaign “War Room.”
Ken has a B.A., Harvard University in American History and Literature and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh
In today's episode, Ken shares his “favorite mistake” story about a time when he was a young legislative aide to Rep. Howard Berman. What went wrong when he went “on background” with a USA Today reporter? Why did he get a copy of the clipping with a “SEE ME” note from the Congressman?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
What happened when Ken met with the Congressman?
Immediate lesson learned about speaking to reporters?
Another lesson – wasn’t proud of the quote, wasn’t constructive
Leadership lessons?
Learning from mistakes
Berman was “a people developer”
Psychological safety
Not carte blanche for making more mistakes
How does psychological safety lead to better performance?
You mentioned learning from Toyota… What did you learn from the late Paul O’Neill about improvement and preventing and learning from mistakes?
Aspirational goals… theoretical limits
Tell us more about Value Capture – free eBooks
The podcast “Habitual Excellence“
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Wall Street Sales Team Leader John Saunders Tried Turning Employees Into Him

Episode page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake146
My guest for Episode #146 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is John Saunders, the founder of Forward Advisory Solutions.
He is the author of the book The Optimizer: Building and Leading a Team of Serial Innovators, which is now also available as an audiobook.
Click here to enter to win a copy of each.
John spent more than two decades as a Wall Street Senior Vice President, sales team leader, and award-winning sales executive. Followed his passion for helping others grow and founded a coaching and consulting company, Forward Advisory Solutions.
As a lifelong learner, Saunders asserts that change is necessary in today’s business world and believes in empowering those with whom he works. Holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Georgetown University.
He is also the host of a podcast called “New Degree Press – The Creator Community.”
In today's episode, John shares his “favorite mistake” story about becoming a new leader and trying to “turn everybody into me.” Why did he do that and what did John learn about what you need to give up as a leader, compared to being an individual contributor?
We also talk about questions and topics including:
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