We’re going back to Episode 30 from January 2021, featuring Katie Anderson — author of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn — and Isao Yoshino, the longtime Toyota leader whose career and lessons inspired her book.

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It was such a privilege to talk with them then, and even more meaningful now, because I recently got to spend time with Mr. Yoshino in Japan last October during Katie’s Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn experience. Seeing him there — humble, curious, and still passionate about developing others — really reinforced everything we talked about in that episode.

Mr. Yoshino shared a story from early in his Toyota career, when a mistake on the shop floor could have led to punishment, but instead led to learning. His leaders didn’t blame him — they worked with him to fix the system. That experience shaped how he led and coached for decades.

Katie shared her own favorite mistake — a story about feedback early in her career that helped her realize the power of listening, asking questions, and helping others find their own answers.

Together, we explored what it means to create a culture where people feel safe to learn, improve, and grow — the kind of culture that turns mistakes into progress.

My guest for Episode #328 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Emily Aborn, a small business copywriter, speaker, and host of the Small Business Casual podcast.

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Emily helps entrepreneurs bring clarity, creativity, and authenticity to their marketing. Before finding her true calling, she owned a brick-and-mortar organic mattress store—a business that looked great on paper but didn’t align with her passions or strengths.

Emily shares how this “perfect-on-paper” business became her favorite mistake. Though the store was profitable, she found herself feeling trapped, unfulfilled, and disconnected from the work she truly loved. Through closing that chapter, Emily discovered what she actually enjoyed most—writing, connection, and storytelling—and turned those insights into a business built around her natural skills.

Today, Emily works with entrepreneurs across industries to find their authentic voice and create meaningful marketing. In this episode, she and Mark explore lessons about self-awareness, alignment, and how mistakes can guide us toward a more fulfilling path. Emily also shares practical insights on copywriting, understanding your audience, and why genuine collaboration beats fear-based marketing every time.

My guest for Episode #327 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. Maya Ackerman, AI pioneer, researcher, and CEO of WaveAI. She’s also an associate professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara University and the author of the new book Creative Machines: AI, Art, and Us.

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In this episode, Maya shares her favorite mistake — one that changed how she builds technology and thinks about creativity. Early in her journey as an entrepreneur, her team at WaveAI created an ambitious product called “Alicia,” designed to assist with every step of music creation. But in trying to help too much, they accidentally took freedom away from users. That experience inspired her concept of “humble AI” — systems that step back, listen, and support human creativity rather than take over.

Maya describes how that lesson led to their breakthrough success with Lyric Studio, an AI songwriting tool that empowers millions of artists by helping them create while staying true to their own voices. She also shares insights from her research on human-centered design, the philosophy behind generative models, and why we should build AI that’s more collaborative than competitive.

Together, we discuss why mistakes — whether made by people or machines — can spark innovation, and how being more forgiving toward imperfection can help both leaders and creators thrive.

“If AI is meant to be human-centric, it must be humble. Its job is to elevate people, not replace them.”

“Who decided machines have to be perfect? It’s a ridiculous expectation — and a limiting one.”

My guest for Episode #326 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Dr. William Harvey, a manufacturing executive and university professor whose career is defined by developing people, strengthening systems, and driving organizational excellence. A proud U.S. Marine, William carries forward a deep tradition of service and leadership. He also serves as the chair for the 2026 AME International Conference in Milwaukee, hosted by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).

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William shares a powerful early-career story about a mistake that taught him lasting lessons about trust, humility, and psychological safety. When he accidentally derailed a customer order by taking home the wrong document, he feared the worst. Instead, his manager’s calm and compassionate response—and a customer’s extraordinary effort to make things right—changed how William thought about leadership forever.

Over time, William applied those lessons to how he leads teams and builds culture. He believes that leaders go first—by admitting mistakes, showing vulnerability, and creating space for others to experiment, fail, and learn. Through daily coaching cycles and methods like Toyota Kata, he helps people develop confidence in problem solving and take ownership of improvement. His goal: to build a workplace culture rooted in trust, respect, and continuous learning, where every person feels safe enough to speak up and strong enough to lead.

In this bonus re-release, we revisit an important and timely conversation with Sabrina Moon, Founder and CEO of The Problem Solving Institute and a certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator.

Originally aired as Episode #35 of My Favorite Mistake, this conversation remains one of the most powerful and honest reflections on leadership, shame, and transformation.

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Sabrina’s “favorite mistake” — using shame as a leadership tool in high-stress environments

The culture of command-and-control leadership she inherited (and how she broke the cycle)

How Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and shame helped her lead differently

The personal toll of shame-based leadership — on her team and herself

Why self-awareness is a skill—and how we can build it

The role of grace, compassion, and curiosity in becoming a better leader

“We use shame and the fear of shame to motivate, but I think in an unhealthy way. I would utilize shame because it was the last tool in my toolbox and I was desperate.” — Sabrina Moon

Sabrina is a leadership coach and consultant who helps organizations move from reactive command-and-control cultures to psychologically safe environments where continuous improvement and innovation can thrive.

Connect with her at ProblemSI.com or on LinkedIn.

As more organizations reflect on how culture impacts performance, engagement, and well-being, this episode offers essential insights for leaders at every level. Whether you're managing a team or transforming a system, Sabrina's story reminds us that who we are as leaders matters just as much as what we do.

My guest for Episode #325 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Phillip Cantrell, EVP of Strategy at United Real Estate, founder of Benchmark Realty, and author of Failing My Way to Success: Lessons from 42 Years of Winning and Losing in Business.

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Phillip reflects on more than four decades of entrepreneurial ups and downs across printing, real estate, and related ventures. He openly shares how devastating mistakes—including putting “all his eggs in one basket”—forced him to reinvent his approach. What looked like a catastrophe in 2007–2008 became the turning point that fueled Benchmark Realty’s rapid growth to nearly 2,000 agents.

“Failure is going to happen. If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not doing anything.”

In this conversation, Phillip and I talk about the difference between scaling vs. scrambling, the dangers of playing “not to lose” instead of “playing to win,” and why documenting processes is essential for growth. He also explains why your only real competitor is “the man in the mirror” and how daily reflection helps him learn from mistakes and avoid repeating them.

This episode is packed with timeless lessons on leadership, resilience, and learning from failure—whether you’re in real estate or any other industry.

“If you play not to lose in business, you’re already losing.”

In this very special solo episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban breaks down the gloriously ridiculous — and surprisingly instructive — mistakes made by the characters in his all-time favorite film, This Is Spinal Tap.

With the long-awaited sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, now in theaters, Mark explores why Spinal Tap endures not just as a cult comedy classic, but as a brilliant satire of human behavior, team dysfunction, communication breakdowns, and leadership gone sideways.

And yes — these mistakes still matter, even four decades later.

From the Stonehenge measured in inches…

…these moments are funny because they’re true. And they’re great reminders that how we respond to mistakes matters more than pretending they never happened.

Why This Is Spinal Tap is more than just a comedy

The iconic “Stonehenge” prop mistake and what it teaches us about communication

How real-life rockstars refused to drum in the sequel (because of the “curse”)

Why remembering the courgette as a cucumber is itself… a mistake

The brilliance of “We don’t have time for that” and the backstage loop in Cleveland

Why doing what you’re told isn’t the same as doing what’s right

Mark’s personal story of seeing the film 100+ times — starting with a VHS in high school

🎬 This Is Spinal Tap on IMDb

🎥 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Now in Theaters

📘 The Mistakes That Make Us by Mark Graban

💻 SpinalTarp.com – A curated list of character mistakes from the film

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and check out past episodes of My Favorite Mistake — where we talk to leaders, authors, entrepreneurs, and creatives about the mistakes that made them who they are.

🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows.

My guest for Episode #324 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Trevor Schade.

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Trevor began his career as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with a strong background in coding and process improvement. He consulted on business efficiency and outsourcing before shifting into real estate in 2008. After earning his license, he quickly built a top-performing team of 26 agents with zero turnover over five years. By leveraging a virtual admin team in the Philippines and innovative automation, Trevor’s group generated over a million dollars in commissions.

In late 2023, Trevor stepped away from leading that large team to focus on investing, advising, and teaching. Today, he speaks on topics including negotiation, time freedom, and real estate strategy, and he has launched Life Wealth courses to help others pursue similar goals.

In this episode, Trevor shares his favorite mistake: jumping into a multi-level marketing business at age 19. The venture wasn’t financially successful, but it transformed his mindset. For the first time, Trevor developed a daily reading habit that exposed him to classics like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People and Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Those books gave him a foundation in psychology, leadership, and long-term thinking that continues to influence his work.

We also explore:

Trevor’s story is a reminder that sometimes the most unprofitable ventures provide the richest education — if we’re willing to learn from them.

In this special episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban celebrates the kickoff of football season with a unique perspective: five legendary kickers who know what it means to perform under pressure. Guests include former NFL kickers Jay Feely, Shane Graham, David Akers, Nick Lowry, and University of South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer Parker White.

These athletes share their most memorable mistakes and high-pressure moments—from Jay Feely’s infamous game-losing kicks and Saturday Night Live parody, to Shane Graham’s insight that failure and success are inseparable, to Nick Lowry’s persistence after 11 rejections before making the NFL. David Akers reflects on striving for improvement over perfection, while Parker White explains how practice and faith helped him overcome nerves and pass lessons on to the next generation.

Across their stories, a common theme emerges: mistakes don’t define you—they prepare you. By reframing failure, focusing on fundamentals, and staying mentally strong, these kickers transformed pressure into performance. Their lessons reach far beyond football, offering wisdom for leaders, teams, and anyone facing high-stakes challenges in business or life.

If you’ve ever struggled with fear of failure, performance anxiety, or the pressure to succeed, this episode offers practical, inspiring insights from athletes who’ve been tested in front of millions.

My guest for Episode #323 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Grace Bourke, Consulting Director of the Performance Excellence Practice at Baker Tilly. With nearly 40 years of experience in healthcare quality improvement and industrial engineering, Grace has worked in clinical care, biotech, global public health, and senior leadership roles at organizations including Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health.'

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Grace shares a very personal favorite mistake — the challenges of building a new home that turned into a nightmare of mold, leaks, and structural flaws. What began as a house problem quickly became a more profound lesson in trust, verification, and speaking up — themes that resonate far beyond construction and directly into the world of healthcare.

“Trust and verify becomes trust and vigilant, educated verification.” – Grace Bourke

She reflects on how her tendency to trust inspections and processes, while ignoring her own instincts, parallels what often happens in healthcare systems when leaders or staff don’t feel psychologically safe to raise concerns. Grace connects her experience to the importance of leadership accountability, patient safety, and continuous improvement, noting that healthcare still struggles to admit mistakes and act decisively to prevent harm.

We also talk about the role of psychological safety, second opinions, and lifelong learning, both in our personal lives and in healthcare. Grace shares how hobbies like glass fusing remind her that safe spaces for experimentation and “planned mistakes” can strengthen resilience, creativity, and growth.

“We can’t fix the whole world, but we can fix our small piece — and that makes a difference.” – Grace Bourke