My Favorite Mistake: Learning Without Blame in Business and Leadership

A Costly Bourbon Mistake—and the Leadership Lesson Behind It

Owner and Master Distiller from Garrison Brothers Distillery
Show notes: ⁠http://www.markgraban.com/mistake11⁠
We have two special guests from ⁠Garrison Brothers Distillery⁠ joining us for Episode #11. They are ⁠Dan Garrison⁠, founder and CEO of the distillery and ⁠Donnis Todd⁠, their master distiller.
I've known Dan and Donnis since I first had the chance to visit their distillery in Hye, TX back in 2013 as part of an MIT alumni group visit. I've visited many times and I've volunteered as a bottler, ⁠as I've blogged about⁠. I love the people, the place, and the product -- their Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskeys, many of which are ⁠award winners⁠.
In the episode, Donnis tells a story about a time when he let some whiskey age one year too long... and what he learned from the mistake (and how Dan handled it). Dan talks about a mistake he made with one of their key national retailer relationships and what he learned from that. They both talk about how they've created a culture of "fessin' up" to mistakes when you make them and why that's so important to their company.
 

Sleep and Wellness Mistakes with Jane Wenning

Trainer, health coach, medical technologist
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake10
oining me for Episode #10 is Jane Wenning, a Certified Medical Technologist, Certified Athletic Trainer, and Health Coach who has been helping women improve their mental and physical health for over 20 years.
More from her bio: “During her high school and college years, she was overweight, struggling with eating disorders, had low self-esteem, and experienced brain fog. After having two unhealthy but successful pregnancies, she struggled with postpartum depression and knew she had to make health changes if she wanted to welcome a third child into the world. She spent hundreds of hours studying and researching nutrition, brain health, longevity, sleep, emotional intelligence, interval training, fasting and epigenetics and estrogenics. She now equips business professionals with the tools needed to become leaner, stronger, healthier, and create changes that lasts beyond retirement.”
Today, Jane shares her “favorite mistake” about sleep and how she learned to adjust her lifestyle and schedule to allow for proper restorative sleep. How does somebody know if they don't need as much sleep as others versus being truly sleep deprived (and being in denial about it).
You can learn more about her at her website 4-PillarsHealth.com. These
“four pillars” of wellness are recovery, emotional energy, nutrition, and movement. You can also find her on Instagram.
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Confusing Goals With a Clear Strategy and Path for Success Jonathon Hensley

CEO and Chief Creative Officer
Show notes: http://www.markgraban.com/mistake9
My guest for Episode #9 is Jonathon Hensley, the CEO and Chief Creative Offer at Emerge Interactive, where he works with clients to transform business strategies, user needs and new technologies into valuable products and experiences. He is also author of the upcoming book, Alignment -- and you can register to get a free digital copy here when it launches.
In this episode, we talk about lessons he's learned in consulting with clients, in particular how w broad goal doesn't always lead to a clear cohesive vision for exactly where you're going and exactly how you're going to get there. How can we turn "great intentions" into meaningful progress?
"[In times like these], you need to be really clear and be diligent and stay the course on your vision. But know that you're going to have to keep adjusting on how you're going to get there and be adaptable and resilient, which everybody is being forced to do right now."
Jonathon Hensley
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“How’s That Working for You?” — A Leadership Question That Changed Everything

Consultant, podcaster, entrepreneur
Show notes and transcript: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake8
My guest for Episode #8 is Jamie V. Parker, the founder of her consulting firm, Process Plus Results, where she is a trainer, speaker, and coach. She is also the host of a podcast called Lean Leadership for Ops Managers.
As many guests have said, Jamie shares her favorite mistake that she's made "so far." She talks about working to change her leadership style away from the "command and control" approach that had been taught to her in the early stages of her leadership career. Jamie shares stories about a mistake she made in working to lead and coach others in a corporate setting. We'll learn the "question that changed everything" for her as a leader and how she eventually figured out how to get through to one manager who was really resistant to her coaching.
This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network -- check it out!
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Being the Last to Know, Professionally or Personally with Matt Granados

Consultant, coach, speaker, CEO
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake7
My guest for Episode #7 is Matt Granados, the cofounder of LifePulse, Inc., a consulting, coaching, and speaking organization. He is also the author of the recently-released book, Motivate The Unmotivated: The Proven System for Sustainable Motivation. He and his wife also have a podcast called REALationship.
Today, Matt shares some examples of similar mistakes from his professional life and his personal life — being the last to know about something major or not paying attention to the things that matter. We also talk about common mistakes that are made when leaders try to motivate others in the workplace.
Visit his website for a special offer for podcast listeners.
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Communicating a Difficult Fact to a Client with Brenda Batista

Consultant, entrepreneur, engineer, attorney, Black Belt
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake6
Joining me for Episode #6 is Brenda Batista, the president of her firm Inspiring Company Culture. She's an engineer and an attorney — she's a management consultant and an entrepreneur. And, today, she's sharing her “favorite mistake” from her time as a consultant.
Brenda shares a story about giving a factual piece of information to a client… and why the way she delivered the message was a mistake that created many learning opportunities on many levels. We'll also talk about how she helps leaders create inspiring company cultures and high performing teams.
Brenda is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Project Management Professional, and 5 Voices System certified trainer. Over the past 25 years, she has been at the helm of many high performing teams dedicated to performance improvement. Brenda has managed complex multi-million dollar client accounts, created computer simulations to predict business performance, and established a scalable consulting methodology for start-ups and established businesses.
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Don’t Compromise the Standard — Billy Ray Taylor on Leadership and Accountability

What happens when a leader compromises the standard—even with good intentions?
In Episode #5 of My Favorite Mistake, Billy Ray Taylor, a retired Goodyear executive and founder of LinkedXL, shares a formative mistake from early in his leadership career: allowing small deviations from standards in the name of being liked and fitting in.
Show notes with links and more
That choice nearly derailed his effectiveness as a leader—until a blunt wake-up call from a mentor changed everything.
Billy explains why what you accept becomes the culture, how inconsistent standards erode trust and safety, and why accountability must be clear, fair, and unwavering. He also shares how strong standards can coexist with psychological safety—and actually enable learning from mistakes rather than blame.
This episode is packed with practical lessons for leaders in operations, manufacturing, healthcare, and any environment where standards, safety, and performance matter.
Key topics include:
Why compromising standards is a hidden leadership mistake
“What you accept, you cannot change” — and why it matters
How leaders unintentionally teach the wrong behaviors
The relationship between standards, culture, and accountability
Creating psychological safety without lowering expectations
Why leaders must model standards consistently
If you’re responsible for people, processes, or performance, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership—and what you’re willing to tolerate.

When Clients Reject the Work: A Consulting Mistake with Jim Benson

Consultant, author, "Personal Kanban" expert
Notes: http://www.markgraban.com/mistake4
My guest for Episode #4 is Jim Benson, the creator of the "Personal Kanban" method and an expert making work flow and decisions easy. He is the CEO of Modus Cooperandi and is a Founding Partner in Modus Institute. And, he's co-creator of the "Lean Coffee" meeting format.
Today, Jim shares a story about working his mistakes and assumptions that he made when working with a large telecom / communications clients that had thrown out the new cross-functional way of working that Jim had helped them put in place. It's a mistake that was humbling to Jim and a mistake that he cheerfully learned from.
Jim is co-author of the book Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life. You can find him on Twitter as @ourfounder.
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A Lost Suitcase, Kind Leadership, and Learning to Be Present | Karyn Ross

Author and consultant, entrepreneur, kindness enthusiast
Show notes: http://www.markgraban.com/mistake3
Joining me for Episode #3 is Karyn Ross, an author and consultant who also works in my field of the “Lean” management system. Today, Karyn will discuss her favorite travel-related mistake and what she learned. We'll also talk about how we can be kind in our coaching of others (and how we can be kind toward ourselves when we make mistakes).
Her books:
The Toyota Way to Service Excellence: Lean Transformation in Service Organizations
How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook.
Think Kindly – Speak Kindly – Act Kindly: 366 Easy and Free Ideas You Can Use to Create a Kinder World…Starting Today!
Big Karma and Little Kosmo Help Each Other
Karyn signed a deal with a publisher for a new book, The Kind Leader -- available now
Please check out Karyn's non-profit, The Love and Kindness Project Foundation.
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Campaign Mistakes, CIA Training, and Leadership Lessons with Will Hurd

Republican Representative from Texas
Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake2
My guest for Episode #2 is not currently a business leader, but he is going back into the private sector in January 2021. He is Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican representing Texas’s 23rd Congressional District.
Hurd was student body president at Texas A&M University, he served as a CIA undercover operations officer including stints in the field in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. After working for a cybersecurity company, he was elected to the House in 2014.
Today, the Congressman talks about his “favorite mistake,” which includes his lessons learned from running and losing his first election in a runoff. We'll also hear about his experiences in the CIA and how they focus on training — and executing the mundane tasks perfectly — as a way to prevent bigger, catastrophic mistakes.
Update March 2022: Hurd is now the author of the book American Reboot: An Idealist's Guide to Getting Big Things Done.
Thanks for listening -- please subscribe, rate, and review. You can support the podcast: https://anchor.fm/favorite-mistake/support
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