My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

Show notes, video, and more: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake127
My guest for Episode #127 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Evans Kerrigan, Co-Founder & CEO of the firm Integris Performance Advisors.
Evans is the co-author, with Brett Cooper, of the book Solving the People Problem: Essential Skills You Need to Lead and Succeed in Today’s Workplace.
In today's episode, Evans tells his “favorite mistake” story from some client work that took place more than 20 years ago. The client was happy with the work, but he thought they “left a lot on the table” because ideas from staff were being overridden or changed by leadership. When did it click that there was a problem? What adjustments did he make?
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Happy with the results, but what’s sustainable? What builds a culture? Not blaming the people.
Common leadership mistakes that you see?
Tell us about the book
It’s not a people problem… but we have friction in communication, etc.
How to address setting the groundwork for listening?
The book's website
EQ survey — what’s my DISC EQ? - Use access code "favorite" to get it for free
Lean podcast episode link
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Founder of the firm Inventium.
Show page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake126
My guest for Episode #126 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr Amantha Imber, she is an organisational psychologist and founder of behavioural science consultancy Inventium.
She and I share a belief… “Work doesn’t have to suck!” As it says on the front page of her website.
Amantha is the author of two best-selling books: The Creativity Formula and The Innovation Formula.
She’s the host of a podcast: “How I Work.”
In today's episode, Amantha tells her “favorite mistake” story about tying her achievements to self worth. How did she discover that pattern? What did she learn and what did she do about it?
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Positive framing (start doing) of habit change vs. negative (stop doing)?
I first learned of you because of a piece you wrote on LinkedIn that I really enjoyed… it was titled: Your “Failure Resume”
Why did you frame that as an experiment?
Amantha's failure resume
Experiments — others coming along with you — how many?
“My Year of Better”
“My natural inclination was to hide my failures.” Why was that?
As a child, you said: “But in addition to being competitive, I was also a perfectionist.” Why is that combination of perfectionism and competitiveness a problem?
Tell us about your firm Inventium
Like Samantha, Without the S — name of an album you released?
Find Amantha on Social Media:
Twitter
LinkedIn
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CEO of Business Ethics Advisors, LLC.
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake125
My guest for Episode #125 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kevin Foster, the CEO of Business Ethics Advisors, LLC. He is a former financial executive with FDIC-Division of Liquidation, Standard Chartered Bank, and Dr Pepper Co., a 30-year veteran in real estate, and a former CPA with Peat, Marwick & Mitchell (now KPMG).
Kevin’s journey took him from corporate real estate executive to a convicted felon (37 months in prison with 28 days in solitary confinement).
Now, Kevin uses his E.T.H.I.C.S. tools to provide ethics awareness and solutions so that others will be prepared to identify the personal characteristics and circumstances leading to unethical behavior.
In today's episode, Kevin tells his “favorite mistake” story about being a finance executive with a real estate company and how he got swept up in criminal conspiracy charges for basically being in the wrong job at the wrong time and for not quitting when he saw red flags.
We talk about that story and other topics including:
What fraud was being committed by the company you were working for? How did that lead to your personal conviction?
Kevin quit – but got talked into coming back…
Was tying to avoid charges… “conspiracy” charges harder to get out of, doing “anything” that advances the conspiracy means you're complicit (even being in one meeting)
How did “ethical problems” turn into legal problems?
Why he's “shocked” that no other Theranos employees are facing charges
What it's like for a white-collar person to go to prison??
Preparing for incarceration?
“Everything that happens… must happen… for a reason”
“Three Felonies a Day” book – white collar professionals – so many laws that can get you thrown in prison
Too many ethics programs are rules-based, video based
He teaches values-based ethics
Why are people unethical?
Does anybody question if a convicted felon can be teaching them ethics? Learning from mistakes personified…
Find Kevin on Social Media:
LinkedIn – Individual
LinkedIn – Company
This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network.
Please follow, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser or your favorite app — that helps others find this content and you'll be sure to get future episodes as they are released weekly. You can also become a financial supporter of the show through Anchor.fm.
You can now sign up to get new episodes via email, to make sure you don't miss an episode.
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Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake124
My guest for Episode #124 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Brent Cassity, author of the new book Nightmare Success: Loyalty, Betrayal, Life Behind Bars, Adapting, and Finally Breaking Free: A Memoir.
Brent also has a podcast – “Nightmare Success In and Out,” which explores the stories of inmates who were in and now out of prison.
Brent was a CEO of a national company, Forever Enterprises, that was recognized in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, TIME, FORTUNE, to name a few. HBO did a documentary on their company titled “The Young and the Dead” that spawned the dramatic series “Six Feet Under” – a highly acclaimed series that I really enjoyed.
As it says in his bio, Brent “had it all and lost it all…” as what happened led to Brent and his family’s story (and the story of their company National Prearranged Services Inc. (NPS) — being an episode of CNBC’s “American Greed” documentary series.
In today's episode, Brent tells his “favorite mistake” story about how trusting his dad, who had already been convicted for fraud, led to him getting into a lot of hot water with the feds… with many lessons learned in the process that he's kind enough to share with us today.
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Was your dad forthcoming about that first conviction?
Was the CNBC story that accurate?
Crimes and intent vs mistakes??
What the five rules that helped you survive prison that can be used in everyday life?
What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality? Nothing is ever as bad as your mind makes it out to be.
What has your life been like since you got out of prison?
Please follow, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser or your favorite app — that helps others find this content and you'll be sure to get future episodes as they are released weekly. You can also become a financial supporter of the show through Anchor.fm.
You can now sign up to get new episodes via email, to make sure you don't miss an episode.
This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake123
My guest for Episode #123 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Super Julie Braun, founder and CEO of “Super Purposes” — a career coaching and advisement program built for the 21st century and today's job market. Her company helps people (more than 16,000 people!) get the career and salary they deserve regardless of their challenges. They work with Veterans, stay-at-home parents, immigrants, folks from the LGBTQIA community, and people with addictions or alcoholism, formerly incarcerated, people with disabilities and more.
Earlier in her career, SJ quickly rose in corporate jobs leading creative teams for Victoria’s Secret, MTV, Nike, Estee Lauder, and Carters Childrenswear. She lists her passions as Animals, the environment, living the digital nomad lifestyle, minimalism, Sudoku, sobriety, and cupcakes — in no particular order?
In today's episode, SJ shares his “favorite mistake” story about quitting a job “in a huff' and not having a plan. Why was she burned out? Why did she think she would fail as a marketing consultant?
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Easier to find a job these days? Finding the right job?
In an era of employee shortages, why do companies need to expand the pool from which they recruit and hire? Incarcerated people…
Human Resources or Humane Resources?
People who are formerly incarcerated… my next two guests both served prison time for fraud and white collar crimes, so there’s a bit of a theme this month…
Tell us about particular challenges for Trans and Non Gender Conforming applicants and programs you have for them?
Programs for military spouses who are moving a lot?
In your coaching, what do you say to people about mistakes in their job search… in interviewing?
The stages of mistake grief??
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CEO of Khorus Systems and iGrafx
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake122
My guest for Episode #122 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Joel Trammell. He is CEO and Founder of Khorus Systems, a business management system that empowers CEOs to lead high-performance organizations.
Joel is the author of books including The CEO Tightrope: How to Master the Balancing Act of a Successful CEO and his latest, available in January, titled The Manager’s Playbook: Make Exceptional People Management Your Competitive Advantage.
In today's episode, Joel shares his “favorite mistake” story about having trouble, multiple times, finding the right VP of Marketing for a startup company.
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Steps to avoid making that mistake?
What are some Mistakes CEOs make in evaluating the performance of other executives?
As boss, do you have to more expert than your team?
“Be an expert generalist”
Being CEO at 2 companies at the same time?
As a CEO, what’s your role in creating a culture of learning from mistakes?
When do you have to bring in an outsider as CEO?
Keep Austin weird? Is it a Mistake for companies to “hire for fit”??
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Episode page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake121
My guest for Episode #121 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Jenn Lim, co-founder, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she co-founded with Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos.com to create more happiness at work/life.
Jenn was a consultant with Zappos from 2003-2011, during the years it grew from a startup into a billion-dollar business. She created the first (of several) Zappos Culture books.
She’s the author of the book Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact — available NOW – and it has been on the WSJ Best Seller list for a few weeks.
In today's episode, Jenn shares her “favorite mistake” story about turning down an opportunity to sell movie rights to a novel she had written (and ended up never publishing). How did she learn to “not live with regret,” being “true to yourself”?
We talk about that story and other topics including:
The so-called Great Resignation is happening… why?
How to embrace the new future of work—hybrid and human — what do you mean by that? – not just technology focus
Beyond work… How to infuse values-based decisions in our day-to-day lives?
Tell us about the book, Beyond Happiness…
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Show Notes: https://www.MarkGraban.com/mistake120
My guest for Episode #120 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Angelo Ponzi, Founder / President of the Ponzi Group (now called Craft Marketing Architects). Angelo is a fractional CMO, business advisor, marketing architect, keynote speaker, and author.
He's also host of the podcast called Business Growth Cafe.
In today's episode, Angelo shares his “favorite mistake” story about not doing his due diligence when he started a film production company that failed in eight months – and what he learned from this that helped him when he tried again. We also talk about the elephant in the room — his last name and the name of his firm.
We talk about that story and other topics including:
What does it mean to be a marketing architect?
Mistakes in understanding customers?
Marketing mistakes that you see and help people avoid?
I love wine… can you tell us about the work you did with a wine brand to boost demand and sales?
The importance of testing ideas and marketing efforts
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Show Notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake119
My guest for Episode #119 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Melanie Pump, an accomplished Chief Financial Officer and business leader from Toronto. She is “a survivor, a business leader and a deep believer in the power of positive, supportive work environments.” She's also the author of the book DETOX: Managing Insecurity in the Workplace.
In today's episode, Melanie shares her "favorite mistake" story about not wanting to share the story of her "rocky childhood" with her colleagues. How did Melanie go from being a high school dropout to a corporate executive?
We talk about that story and other topics including:
What sort of reaction do you get when you tell the story?
Vulnerability is helpful? Showing it as a leader... admitting mistakes as a leader...
What inspired you to write the book?
Worked in some toxic workplaces?
Getting past insecurity? Is insecurity the root of many other problems?
Wasn’t asking “why” that person seems insecure?
How can we help others?
Toxic behaviors?Passive aggressiveness
Avoidance / procrastination
Defensiveness
Does insecurity lead to the appearance of arrogance that leads to toxic environments?
Addressing imposter syndrome?
Gender differences??
What do you do as CFO (and the rest of the C-suite) to guard against toxic work environments?
Why does this matter for business results???
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https://www.markgraban.com/mistake118 has show notes, links, and more.
My guest for Episode #118 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Matthew Korban, a Certified Health Coach, Executive Life Coach, and Motivational Speaker. Born in Beirut, but based in Ohio now, he is also a 5-time black belt martial artist who practices meditation and Yoga daily.
In today's episode, Matthew shares his “favorite mistake” story, the “first 40 years” of his life, as he put it, and how a surgical procedure was a “wake up call” and his “near-death experience” shifted him into significant weight loss (over 200 pounds) and a new career direction.
We talk about that story and other topics including:
Why was he working 15-16 hours a day? Status, money, attention
Is it tough marketing balance and a healthier lifestyle??
Cannot use some marketing tactics with people
Have to prioritize — we cannot have it all
Developing better habits? Make Positive Habit Changes
Giving away a free 50-minute coaching session
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