Andy Freed has spent 30 years helping leaders communicate with clarity — but one cross-cultural marketing blunder taught him that clever means nothing if you haven't considered your audience. The CEO of Virtual Inc. and author of “Lead Like the Boss”...
Dr. Julia Garcia built a performing arts collective before she understood the business model — and later walked away from a tech startup she believed in because her sense of self-worth had quietly collapsed. She shares why hope is a cognitive science...
My guest for Episode #344 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Mike Chaput, President and CEO of Endsight. Mike's favorite mistake was making “have a sense of humor” a core company value — a choice that inadvertently permitted blame-based behaviors,...
Kendall Berg was so good at her job that she thought she didn't have to be nice — until a VP told her, “Nobody likes working with you.” That feedback became the catalyst for five promotions in six years, a coaching business, and a completely differen...
Patrick Engasser spent two years ranked near the bottom of a 615-person sales organization before one decision changed everything: hiring a coach. In this episode, he talks about why waiting so long was his biggest mistake, how he turned blindness in...
Dr. Jen Fry shares how an eight-month silence with her best friend became her favorite mistake — and why conflict avoidance, not conflict itself, is what really damages leadership cultures, teams, and relationships. Listen: Check out all episodes on...
MLB's new Automated Ball-Strike challenge system is designed to reduce bad calls. It may also create a new category of mistakes — ones that didn't exist before the fix. Listen: Check out all episodes on the My Favorite Mistake main page. Baseball has...
Mark Graban talks with Dr. Tyler B. Evans, infectious diseases physician and author of Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics, about how a career “mistake” redirected his path from global health abroad to leading public health efforts in the United States....
Small mistakes don’t usually cause big problems — unless the system lets them. This week’s Mistake of the Week comes from northwest China, where a simple water leak quietly turned an entire street into an ice rink overnight. The story isn’t about bla...
In Episode 339 of My Favorite Mistake, I talk with Genevieve Skory, executive coach and former Chief Field Development Officer, about a powerful leadership mistake: confusing performance with alignment. Listen: Check out all episodes on the My Favori...