My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

When Early Success Kills Innovation

Author, CEO & Founder of The Creator Mindset, LLC.
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake88
My guest for Episode #88 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Nir Bashan, CEO & Founder of The Creator Mindset, LLC.
Nir is a world-renowned creativity expert. He has taught thousands of leaders and individuals across the globe how to harness the power of creativity to improve profitability, increase sales and ultimately create more meaning in their work. Nir has worked on numerous albums, movies, and advertisements with famous actors and musicians ranging from Rod Stewart to Woody Harrelson. His work on creativity has won a Clio Award and was nominated for an Emmy.
As founder and CEO of The Creator Mindset Consulting, his company produces workshops, consulting, coaching and keynote speaking engagements at conferences and corporate events. His clients include AT&T, Microsoft, Ace Hardware, NFL Network, EA Sports and jetBlue.
His book The Creator Mindset: 92 Tools to Unlock the Secrets to Innovation, Growth, and Sustainability, which has been translated into two languages, was released worldwide by McGraw/Hill business in August of 2020.
In today's episode, Nir shares his "favorite mistake," which involved his film production company that released a documentary film ("The Kitchen") that did well... but then went out of business. Why was it a problem to rest on their initial success? Why did it "work for a while" before "tanking"?
Other topics and questions:
Applying those lessons from your experience to your current business?
Takeaway – “I don’t sell anything anymore”
Why he does more listening now
Can you have a process for being creative?
It’s a tool to use, not a gift?
Prof. Amy Edmondson, in her blurb for your book, makes reference to “using mistakes to learn fast” — tell us more about that…
Look at the mistake in a positive way
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Borrowing Money From Family — and Not Being Able to Quit

CEO and founder of Shufflrr
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake87
My guest for Episode #87 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is AlexAnndra Ontra. As President and co-founder of Shufflrr, AlexAnndra is blazing a trail in the emerging new discipline of presentation management.
The technology she helped create is already powering the presentation strategies of hundreds of Fortune-level companies, helping them save millions of dollars by transforming humble PowerPoint slides into invaluable business assets. Shufflrr visualizes your company's content so you can find, see, read through, that one great slide or file when you need it.
Alex is also the co-author of the book Presentation Management: The New Strategy for Enterprise Content.
In today's episode Alex shares her “favorite mistake,” which was borrowing money from her mother to start a tech company. When the great recession hit, she couldn't make the payments, which weighed on her heavily. She couldn’t just quit and move on — she stuck with it and the company is thriving now.
Other topics and questions:
What's it like starting a business with a sibling?
Mistakes speakers make with presentations?
Mistakes companies make in managing presentation slides?
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Customers Wanted Solutions — We Gave Them Technology

Global President and CEO at AposHealth
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake86
My guest for Episode #86 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Cliff Bleustein, MD, MBA, the Global President and CEO at AposHealth. Read his full corporate bio here.
Dr.Bleustein graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his internship at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. He later completed his residency in urology at Montefiore Medical Center. He went on to private practice Urology and became a board-certified Urologist. Dr. Bleustein earned a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also received an executive master’s degree in business administration from NYU Stern School of Business where he now teaches Healthcare Economics as an Adjunct Professor.
In today's episode, Cliff tells a “favorite mistake” story about his time at a previous company. What happened when they realized that they were organized around technologies, but the customers wanted solutions. How did the company get to be that way and why did nothing change?
Other topics and questions:
Tell us about AposHealth — who are the customers?
Did your favorite mistake help you here?
Mistakes in healthcare? Openness about talking about mistakes?
Why does it take 17 years to adopt new technologies?
Creating a blame free culture in medicine? In sales?
As a CEO, what's your view on learning from mistakes?
Insights into growing a global medical organization?
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Why Being the “Solo Genius” Is a Leadership Trap

Author of "Hold Successful Meetings"
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake85
My guest for Episode #85 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Caterina Kostoula. She is an executive coach and founder of The Leaderpath. Prior to The Leaderpath, Caterina was a Global Business Leader at Google where she managed some of the company's largest C-level partnerships. She was also an internal coach, awarded a 5-star-rating distinction from her coachees. Before Google, Caterina worked in advertising. Caterina has coached leaders from Google, Amazon, Vodafone, WPP, Ferrero, ArcelorMittal, Workable, and several entrepreneurs. She collaborates with INSEAD, coaching Executive MBAs and alumni. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
She is the author of the book, released today, Hold Successful Meetings, published by Penguin Business.
Caterina has lived in more than seven countries across America, Europe, and Asia. She now lives in London. She writes about personal development on Forbes, Fast Company, and Thrive Global. In 2017, she was one of Medium’s top writers on self-improvement, life lessons, and relationships. She holds an INSEAD MBA and an Executive Coaching Accreditation and MSc from Ashridge Business School. She has two young children and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Topics and questions:
What is your favorite mistake? Mistake: kept generating and making all of the decisions as a solopreneur Lesson: Cannot make impact without a team – not just outsourcing Mentor asked: What kind of leader do you want to be?
In theory, leaders want ideas… but there's subtle sabotage Team members though say they’re scared Psychological safety – work on establishing this first
Why write the book? Out of pain and frustration?
What does “successful” mean in context of meetings?
4 reasons to have a meeting — 4Ds
Common mistakes related to meetings?
Mistakes with Virtual meetings? More tiring — make them shorter, take breaks every 45 min Interaction is harder – more interruption Meetings need more structure as a countermeasure Using breakouts
Quiz – how successful are your meetings? TheLeaderPath.com/meetings
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Quitting a 9-to-5 Job — and Falling Into a Pit of Despair

Business coach from the UK
Show notes and links: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake84
My guest for Episode #84 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is John Paragon, a business coach based in the UK — John is focused on coaching struggling fathers on discovering and launching their ideal business in 30 days. His website is www.paragonhustle.com.
Warning and disclaimer: There is a brief mention of the sensitive subject of suicide. If you are struggling, help is available Speak with someone today by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
Why did he leave a 9-to-5 job to end up in a “pit of despair” before finding more success and fulfillment? Why was he nicknamed “Honest John” when selling cars at a dealer and why was he a bad fit for having that trait of honesty? How has he succeeded in spite of dropping out of school at age 14? Why does he think every person should develop some sort of “side hustle”? Why does he focus specifically on coaching young fathers with starting businesses?
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When Overwork Turns Into a Health Crisis

Manager of Strategy & Organizational Change
My guest for Episode #83 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Sabrina Malter, a Manager of Strategy and Organizational Change at Roche Diagnostics (in Germany).
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake83
Today, Sabrina shares two "favorite mistake" stories. One is about studying too much and not taking care of herself to the point that she lost her hearing for a period and suffered from short-term memory loss. How has she learned to notice the early warning signs of such overwork and stress? Her second story is about "playing it safe too much" and how "courage" was her theme for the year 2020.
We also talk about creating a workplace culture where it's safe to talk openly about mistakes, something we both agree is incredibly important. What happened when, as a fan of this podcast, she asked a new executive what his favorite mistake was?
And, does she know what the word "verschlimmbesserung" means? She does and she'll explain what it means to her.
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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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