The Mistakes That Make Us

Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation

By: Mark Graban

Narrated by: Mark Graban

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

We all make mistakes, but what's important is learning from them. In The Mistakes That Make Us, Mark Graban presents a refreshing approach to mistakes. Instead of punishing individuals, he encourages embracing and learning from mistakes, fostering a culture of learning and innovation. Graban shares stories and insights from his podcast, My Favorite Mistake, and his own experiences, showing how leaders can cultivate this culture. The book includes examples from various industries, like manufacturing, healthcare, and software. Leaders from Toyota, KaiNexus, and others share their stories.

Developing a culture of learning from mistakes through psychological safety is crucial for effective leadership. Leaders should admit their own mistakes and react well when employees do the same. Psychological safety encourages speaking up and unleashes the benefits of proven problem-solving methods.

Speaking up about mistakes isn’t a matter of character or courage; it’s a function of the workplace culture.

The book also highlights the power of iteration and shifting our mindset from "fail early, fail often" to "make small mistakes, learn, adjust, and succeed." It provides practical guidance on adopting a positive mindset towards mistakes and creating a safe environment for their expression.

The Mistakes That Make Us is a must-listen for those seeking to improve their organizations, with benefits such as lower turnover, more innovation, and better performance. Whether you're a startup founder or an aspiring leader, this book will inspire you to lead with kindness, humility, and the belief that learning from mistakes can make things right.

©2023 Constancy, Inc. and Mark Graban (P)2023 Constancy, Inc. and Mark Graban

Graban has done it again

Graban has taken an uncomfortable topic and examined it in a fresh nonjudgmental way. He has weaved some of the most important l themes of business today, process improvement, psychological safety, growth mindset (to name a few), via the understanding, accepting, and ultimately improving from mistakes. We all make mistakes. What we do with them defines who we will become.Worthwhile and easy read.

Mistakes, Psychological Safety, and Improvement

This is an inspiring book about mistakes. It isn't just stories from the mistakes podcasts that the author produces, but more importantly it is about why people make mistakes, and the culture necessary to turn those mistakes into learning and improvement opportunities. This can only happen in the right kind of culture, and the book explores how to build that culture. I highly recommend it.

Not just insights from podcast guests

I’ve listened to most of the My Favorite Mistake podcast episodes, and thought this would be key highlights from the show. But I was pleasantly surprised that it included much more than that, such as history on mistakes and error proofing, keys to cultivating a culture of psychological safety, Mark’s personal and work examples of mistakes, as well as key insights from his guests. I can’t think of anyone that would not benefit from hearing this book.

A must-read book for all MBA students

My biggest mistake was not reading this book sooner!

The author has tapped into a cultural problem that I have encountered multiples times in Corporate America. Most organizations avoid acknowledging and learning from mistakes. In this book, Graban drills down on the numerous benefits that can be realized when we take the time to learn from our mistakes in a positive way. I really appreciate his emphasis on the need to cultivate the right culture. I think all manager and future managers should read this book.