My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

When a Customer Demanded Blame — and He Betrayed His Own Leadership Values (Kyle Kumpf)

Entrepreneur and financial services process improvement leader
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake82
My guest for Episode #82 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kyle Kumpf. He has founded a few businesses, has been a consultant, and is currently working in the financial services industry. Kyle has a bachelor's degree in packaging engineering technology from Indiana State University.
Like me, he's been deeply involved in process improvement work (Lean Six Sigma) and his current mission is "ending human suffering as it relates to process in Financial Services."
In this episode, Kyle talks about his "favorite mistake" involving a time when he "disobeyed one of his personal values" -- the customer wanted someONE to blame, and he wrote up an employee. Why did he regret this action and how did he realize it was a mistake? We talk about that, mistakes related to his passion of playing golf, and more.
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How Complacency Nearly Killed a Thriving Business (Aya Shlachter)

Mom, wife, entrepreneur, speaker, and CEO of MGS Global Group
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake81
My guest for Episode #81 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Aya Shlachter, a mom, wife, entrepreneur, speaker, and CEO of MGS Global Group, a built environment, architectural and graphic design consulting firm serving the creative industry. Her team specializes in architectural support, graphics production support, and design consulting services in the retail, residential and hospitality sectors for leading brands, including Coach, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, and many restaurants.
Aya also runs the Architect My Life program, where she helps female creative entrepreneurs and CEOs like architects and designers scale to seven figures in 12 months or less while enjoying more out of life along the way. She will also be launching a podcast of the same name.
Aya earned a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
In this episode, Aya shares her favorite mistake about getting complacent in the early days of a business that was going really well… until it was not. Why was the business on “autopilot” and what problems did that cause? Thankfully, early recognition of the mistake prevented bigger problems.
Other topics and questions:
Mistakes in setting up her website?
Systems in place to prevent cashflow blindness?
Covid challenges — hold out or pivot?
Creating a system to look for blind spots / need to pivot?
Mistakes retailers make in store design?
Mistakes entrepreneurs make?
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What a Bad MLM Pitch Taught Tim Spiker About Leadership

Founder of “The Aperio” and author of The Only Leaders Worth Following
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake80
My guest for Episode #80 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Tim Spiker, founder of his company The Aperio and author of the book The Only Leaders Worth* Following: Why Some Leaders Succeed, Others Fail, and How the Quality of Our Lives Hangs in the Balance. 
Other topics and questions:
What does the word “Aperio” mean with your company name?
What is the “who* not what principle”?
“3/4 of effectiveness as a leader is who you are, not what you do”
What are the four steps of empathy?
The book — what does the asterisk next to Worth mean?
How do you choose a leader worth following? Mistakes people make in choosing to follow leaders?
What are the effects of poor leadership on relationships and health?
Implications for hiring or promoting?
Rationalizing bad behavior or thinking you HAVE to be a jerk to be successful (Steve Jobs?)
Why do leaders want to do new things without changing how they are?
Leaders reacting to mistakes? How should they?
Humility in leaders is a magnet… trust
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The Resume Mistake That Derailed a Doctor’s Career (Dr. Noor Ali)

Health insurance advisor, physician, and surgeon
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake79
My guest for Episode #79 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Noor Ali, a physician from Bangladesh who struggled to find a job here in the U.S. She describes herself as a “passionate and strong-willed mother, wife, doctor, researcher, entrepreneur, and champion of women in science who want it all.”
In this episode, she'll talk about her resume writing mistakes and she'll talk about the role she has embraced as a health insurance advisor here in the U.S. Dr. Ali will talk about mistakes that entrepreneurs and other people make when it comes to health insurance. We'll also discuss opportunities for improvement in the U.S. health system and her views on those who say it's a mistake to "want it all" as a professional woman.
Find Dr. Ali on Social Media:LinkedInTwitterInstagramYouTubeFacebook
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Being Careless with a Crocodile Changed Ron Magill’s Life for the Better

Zoologist, and Communicators Director, Zoo Miami
Show notes and links: https://www.markgraban.com/magill
My guest for this BONUS episode of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Ron Magill, the communications director for the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens (or Zoo Miami) — he’s a zoologist and his “favorite mistake” story is one that only a zoologist could tell.
I recently did another bonus episode with five personalities from the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. Ron is a weekly guest each Tuesday on their show. For that original bonus episode, I encouraged people to make donations to the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, as I did. I hope you'll consider doing the same and it's a great cause.
Today, Ron shares a story about how being young and cocky and careless with a crocodile managed was a "favorite mistake" because it happened for a reason... and it made his life better!
I was able to get this story via the Cameo app and you can also buy a personalized message from him there, if you like.
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The Consulting Mistake That Got Me Fired — and What It Taught Me About Humility (Jeff Gothelf)

Author of books including FOREVER EMPLOYABLE: How to stop looking for work and let your next job find you
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake78
My guest for Episode #78 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Jeff Gothelf, author of books including Sense and Respond, Lean UX, and Lean vs Agile vs Design Thinking. His latest book is FOREVER EMPLOYABLE: How to stop looking for work and let your next job find you.
Recently, he co-founded Sense & Respond Press, a publishing house for modern, transformational business books.
Today, we hear his "favorite mistake" story from his first consulting gig. Why did he end up making the client look terrible in front of their bosses? And what did he learn from that incident to make sure he never does that again?
Questions and topics include:
Job search mistakes
Reducing the “panic” that comes with company uncertainty
Building a safety net around yourself
Pull opportunities to you - grow your presence
Startup mistakes - wasting time and money on ideas that don't work
Why the magic ingredient is humility
Find Jeff on Social Media:LinkedInTwitter
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Why Merging a Business with Your Spouse Nearly Cost Everything (Moe Carrick)

CEO of Momentum, Inc.
Show notes, enter to win her books, and more: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake77
My guest for Episode #77 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Moe Carrick, the CEO of her company, Momentum, Inc. She is a best-selling author, consultant, relentless optimist, and bee keeper. Yes, I'll ask her about that last part. Moe has a new podcast coming soon called Work: Beyond HR.
Moe is the author of two books, and you can enter a contest to win both of them:
Fit Matters: How to Love Your Job
Bravespace Workplace: Making Your Company Fit for Human Life
In today's episode, Moe shares her favorite mistake — a story about merging her consulting firm with the consulting company of her second (and current) husband. Why was this a mistake? How did she learn it was a mistake and what did she do about that? We'll talk about her lessons learned and more.
Other topics and questions:
Why didn't she listen to the coach that she and her husband hired?
Was it a “merger of equals”?
How often is “bad employee” a matter of “bad fit”?
How can straight, white people be an effective and graceful ally to people of color or the LGBTQ+ communities?
White men as full diversity partners?
My wife's blog post that I mentioned
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Why He Hid a Failing Project — and What It Cost Him (Matt Boos)

Director of Strategy for The Industrious
https://www.markgraban.com/mistake76
My guest for Episode #76 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Matthew Boos. We were classmates in elementary school back in our hometown of Livonia, Michigan. Now, he is the Director of Strategy for The Industrious and he's the keyboard player for Blizzard of Ozzy, a Black Sabbath Tribute band.
In today's episode, Matt shares his favorite mistake story from a time when he was working for a major telecommunications company. A project was behind schedule ("in the red") and he and his project co-leader weren't forthcoming about that. Matt says he literally thinks about this ordeal every single day -- it's influenced him and he's learned from it. How has this influenced him as a leader? Listen and find out.
This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network.
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Entrepreneurship Mistakes — Victoria Wieck on Owning Your Brand and Platform

World-renowned jewelry designer and entrepreneur
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake75
My guest for Episode #75 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Victoria Wieck, a world-renowed jewelry designer, entrepreneur, author, and someone who has spent more than two decades on two different cable TV shopping channels.
Victoria's parents immigrated from South Korea when she was very young and, starting with no money, she worked her way up to selling over 10 million pieces of jewelry over her career. Victoria has a BS in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from USC.
From 1998 until 2017, she was on HSN sharing her unique jewelry designs with millions of viewers with her monthly shows. She took some time off to plan her daughter’s wedding and to write a novel… but she came back to TV, sharing her elegant, affordably priced jewelry on ShopHQ through her weekly shows.
Victoria is hosting a free webinar on June 24th called “How to Make More Money and Work Less.” The registration form can be found at the bottom of her website.
Questions and topics include:
Her podcast, “Million Dollar Hobbies“
Her upcoming book, Living the American Dream
Why it was a mistake to give HSN full rights to her social media and online presence
The problems with the contract that she signed
“Don’t build your castle on somebody else’s land”
The film “Our Darkest Hour”
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal.” — Winston Churchill
Her mission – help create a million millionaires
Mistakes entrepreneurs make?
Her novel Shattered Sky
Find Victoria on Social Media:InstagramFacebookLinkedInTwitter
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The Cost of Not Owning Your Mistakes — and the Power of Telling the Truth (Terry Iverson)

President & CEO at Iverson & Company
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake74
My guest for Episode #74 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Terry Iverson, the President & CEO at Iverson & Company, a third-generation family-owned company that produces machine tooling.
Terry is the author of Finding America's Greatest Champion: Building Prosperity Through Manufacturing, Mentoring and the Awesome Responsibility of Parenting (2018).
He is also founder of the ChampionNow! Foundation, formed in 2012.
Questions and topics include:
What lesson did Terry learn about responsibility, in the realm of high school academics and sports eligibility?
Lesson about accountability, when others depend on you
As a father, can you teach that story or has to be lived?
Fessing up and telling the truth about a mistake in the business
You don’t make a decision KNOWING its the wrong decision — but learn something?
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