My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

CEO of Business Ethics Advisors, LLC. Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake125 My guest for Episode #125 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kevin Foster, the CEO of Business Ethics Advisors, LLC. He is a former financial executive with FDIC-Division of Liquidation, Standard Chartered Bank, and Dr Pepper Co., a 30-year veteran in real estate, and a former CPA with Peat, Marwick & Mitchell (now KPMG). Kevin’s journey took him from corporate real estate executive to a convicted felon (37 months in prison with 28 days in solitary confinement). Now, Kevin uses his E.T.H.I.C.S. tools to provide ethics awareness and solutions so that others will be prepared to identify the personal characteristics and circumstances leading to unethical behavior. In today's episode, Kevin tells his “favorite mistake” story about being a finance executive with a real estate company and how he got swept up in criminal conspiracy charges for basically being in the wrong job at the wrong time and for not quitting when he saw red flags. We talk about that story and other topics including: What fraud was being committed by the company you were working for? How did that lead to your personal conviction? Kevin quit – but got talked into coming back… Was tying to avoid charges… “conspiracy” charges harder to get out of, doing “anything” that advances the conspiracy means you're complicit (even being in one meeting) How did “ethical problems” turn into legal problems? Why he's “shocked” that no other Theranos employees are facing charges What it's like for a white-collar person to go to prison?? Preparing for incarceration? “Everything that happens… must happen… for a reason” “Three Felonies a Day” book – white collar professionals – so many laws that can get you thrown in prison Too many ethics programs are rules-based, video based He teaches values-based ethics Why are people unethical? Does anybody question if a convicted felon can be teaching them ethics? Learning from mistakes personified… Find Kevin on Social Media: LinkedIn – Individual LinkedIn – Company This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network. Please follow, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser or your favorite app — that helps others find this content and you'll be sure to get future episodes as they are released weekly. You can also become a financial supporter of the show through Anchor.fm. You can now sign up to get new episodes via email, to make sure you don't miss an episode. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake124 My guest for Episode #124 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Brent Cassity, author of the new book Nightmare Success: Loyalty, Betrayal, Life Behind Bars, Adapting, and Finally Breaking Free: A Memoir. Brent also has a podcast – “Nightmare Success In and Out,” which explores the stories of inmates who were in and now out of prison. Brent was a CEO of a national company, Forever Enterprises, that was recognized in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, TIME, FORTUNE, to name a few. HBO did a documentary on their company titled “The Young and the Dead” that spawned the dramatic series “Six Feet Under” – a highly acclaimed series that I really enjoyed. As it says in his bio, Brent “had it all and lost it all…” as what happened led to Brent and his family’s story (and the story of their company National Prearranged Services Inc. (NPS) — being an episode of CNBC’s “American Greed” documentary series. In today's episode, Brent tells his “favorite mistake” story about how trusting his dad, who had already been convicted for fraud, led to him getting into a lot of hot water with the feds… with many lessons learned in the process that he's kind enough to share with us today. We talk about that story and other topics including: Was your dad forthcoming about that first conviction? Was the CNBC story that accurate? Crimes and intent vs mistakes?? What the five rules that helped you survive prison that can be used in everyday life? What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality? Nothing is ever as bad as your mind makes it out to be. What has your life been like since you got out of prison? Please follow, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser or your favorite app — that helps others find this content and you'll be sure to get future episodes as they are released weekly. You can also become a financial supporter of the show through Anchor.fm. You can now sign up to get new episodes via email, to make sure you don't miss an episode. This podcast is part of the Lean Communicators network. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake123 My guest for Episode #123 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Super Julie Braun, founder and CEO of “Super Purposes” — a career coaching and advisement program built for the 21st century and today's job market. Her company helps people (more than 16,000 people!) get the career and salary they deserve regardless of their challenges. They work with Veterans, stay-at-home parents, immigrants, folks from the LGBTQIA community, and people with addictions or alcoholism, formerly incarcerated, people with disabilities and more. Earlier in her career, SJ quickly rose in corporate jobs leading creative teams for Victoria’s Secret, MTV, Nike, Estee Lauder, and Carters Childrenswear. She lists her passions as Animals, the environment, living the digital nomad lifestyle, minimalism, Sudoku, sobriety, and cupcakes — in no particular order? In today's episode, SJ shares his “favorite mistake” story about quitting a job “in a huff' and not having a plan. Why was she burned out? Why did she think she would fail as a marketing consultant? We talk about that story and other topics including: Easier to find a job these days? Finding the right job? In an era of employee shortages, why do companies need to expand the pool from which they recruit and hire? Incarcerated people… Human Resources or Humane Resources? People who are formerly incarcerated… my next two guests both served prison time for fraud and white collar crimes, so there’s a bit of a theme this month… Tell us about particular challenges for Trans and Non Gender Conforming applicants and programs you have for them? Programs for military spouses who are moving a lot? In your coaching, what do you say to people about mistakes in their job search… in interviewing? The stages of mistake grief?? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

CEO of Khorus Systems and iGrafx Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake122 My guest for Episode #122 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Joel Trammell. He is CEO and Founder of Khorus Systems, a business management system that empowers CEOs to lead high-performance organizations. Joel is the author of books including The CEO Tightrope: How to Master the Balancing Act of a Successful CEO and his latest, available in January, titled The Manager’s Playbook: Make Exceptional People Management Your Competitive Advantage. In today's episode, Joel shares his “favorite mistake” story about having trouble, multiple times, finding the right VP of Marketing for a startup company. We talk about that story and other topics including: Steps to avoid making that mistake? What are some Mistakes CEOs make in evaluating the performance of other executives? As boss, do you have to more expert than your team? “Be an expert generalist” Being CEO at 2 companies at the same time? As a CEO, what’s your role in creating a culture of learning from mistakes? When do you have to bring in an outsider as CEO? Keep Austin weird? Is it a Mistake for companies to “hire for fit”?? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Episode page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake121 My guest for Episode #121 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Jenn Lim, co-founder, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she co-founded with Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos.com to create more happiness at work/life. Jenn was a consultant with Zappos from 2003-2011, during the years it grew from a startup into a billion-dollar business. She created the first (of several) Zappos Culture books. She’s the author of the book Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact — available NOW – and it has been on the WSJ Best Seller list for a few weeks. In today's episode, Jenn shares her “favorite mistake” story about turning down an opportunity to sell movie rights to a novel she had written (and ended up never publishing). How did she learn to “not live with regret,” being “true to yourself”? We talk about that story and other topics including: The so-called Great Resignation is happening… why? How to embrace the new future of work—hybrid and human — what do you mean by that? – not just technology focus Beyond work… How to infuse values-based decisions in our day-to-day lives? Tell us about the book, Beyond Happiness… --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show Notes: https://www.MarkGraban.com/mistake120 My guest for Episode #120 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Angelo Ponzi, Founder / President of the Ponzi Group (now called Craft Marketing Architects). Angelo is a fractional CMO, business advisor, marketing architect, keynote speaker, and author. He's also host of the podcast called Business Growth Cafe. In today's episode, Angelo shares his “favorite mistake” story about not doing his due diligence when he started a film production company that failed in eight months – and what he learned from this that helped him when he tried again. We also talk about the elephant in the room — his last name and the name of his firm. We talk about that story and other topics including: What does it mean to be a marketing architect? Mistakes in understanding customers? Marketing mistakes that you see and help people avoid? I love wine… can you tell us about the work you did with a wine brand to boost demand and sales? The importance of testing ideas and marketing efforts --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show Notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake119 My guest for Episode #119 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Melanie Pump, an accomplished Chief Financial Officer and business leader from Toronto. She is “a survivor, a business leader and a deep believer in the power of positive, supportive work environments.” She's also the author of the book DETOX: Managing Insecurity in the Workplace. In today's episode, Melanie shares her "favorite mistake" story about not wanting to share the story of her "rocky childhood" with her colleagues. How did Melanie go from being a high school dropout to a corporate executive? We talk about that story and other topics including: What sort of reaction do you get when you tell the story? Vulnerability is helpful? Showing it as a leader... admitting mistakes as a leader... What inspired you to write the book? Worked in some toxic workplaces? Getting past insecurity? Is insecurity the root of many other problems? Wasn’t asking “why” that person seems insecure? How can we help others? Toxic behaviors?Passive aggressiveness Avoidance / procrastination Defensiveness Does insecurity lead to the appearance of arrogance that leads to toxic environments? Addressing imposter syndrome? Gender differences?? What do you do as CFO (and the rest of the C-suite) to guard against toxic work environments? Why does this matter for business results??? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

https://www.markgraban.com/mistake118 has show notes, links, and more. My guest for Episode #118 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Matthew Korban, a Certified Health Coach, Executive Life Coach, and Motivational Speaker. Born in Beirut, but based in Ohio now, he is also a 5-time black belt martial artist who practices meditation and Yoga daily. In today's episode, Matthew shares his “favorite mistake” story, the “first 40 years” of his life, as he put it, and how a surgical procedure was a “wake up call” and his “near-death experience” shifted him into significant weight loss (over 200 pounds) and a new career direction. We talk about that story and other topics including: Why was he working 15-16 hours a day? Status, money, attention Is it tough marketing balance and a healthier lifestyle?? Cannot use some marketing tactics with people Have to prioritize — we cannot have it all Developing better habits? Make Positive Habit Changes Giving away a free 50-minute coaching session --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

Show page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake117 My guest for Episode #117 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Lynn Yap, the Founder of Actv8 Network, whose mission is to increase the participation of women in the fields of technology, and entrepreneurship. She started her career as a corporate attorney, and then followed a traditional business path—graduating from the Wharton School with an MBA and working in investment banking. Her curiosity led her to research more about using businesses as a force for good. Her book The Altruistic Capitalist: How to Lead for Purpose and Profit represents the culmination of conversations with leaders at for-profit corporations, entrepreneurs, and investors, and her personal experience. In today's episode, Lynn shares her “favorite mistake” story, which led to her to leave investment banking after participating in the Facebook IPO. Why did she learn that she never again “wanted to sacrifice [her] values”? We talk about that story and other topics including: Did you go through a process of forgiving yourself? Why did you start the Actv8 Network? Interactive programs? For young women? Gap — Tom Peters — need more women on boards, CEOs The book: Focusing on all stake holders instead of just shareholders? Business Roundtable statement — stakeholder capitalism 21 core metrics – people, the planet What is the “altruistic capitalist mindset”?Mindfulness, curiosity, grit --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

In today's bonus episode, host Mark Graban talks about an error that he was "victim" of this week. He was given the incorrect Moderna booster dose, being given the "full" 0.5 mL dose instead of the "booster" dose of 0.25 mL. This is, thankfully, an error that's not harmful (in fact, it may be to his benefit). But, everyone, from the CDC to the store, pharmacy manager agreed this was a "serious" error that "should not occur." How can we learn from mistakes like this so we prevent giving the wrong dose (or the wrong vaccine)?? Will learning from this help prevent future errors that might be more serious? You can read more in a blog post that Mark about this. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support