The Mistakes That Make Us - by Mark Graban (Hardcover)

About the Book

Mark Graban's The Mistakes That Make Us reveals how learning from mistakes-supported by psychological safety and strong systems-helps teams improve faster, solve problems, and build a culture of continuous innovation.

Book Synopsis

2025 Shingo Publication Award Recipient

What if your team's biggest competitive advantage is the one you've been taught to avoid-mistakes?

In The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, bestselling author and consultant Mark Graban shows leaders how to replace fear, blame, and silence with a culture where people learn faster, innovate more often, and continuously improve the systems around them.

Drawing from powerful stories on the My Favorite Mistake podcast (more than 200 interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, clinicians, creators, and change-makers), Graban reveals a consistent truth: success isn't about avoiding mistakes-it's about learning from them.

This practical, engaging, and deeply human book helps leaders build organizations where people speak up, take smart risks, and solve problems together. The lessons align with the principles Graban has taught for years in Lean Hospitals, Healthcare Kaizen, and Measures of Success-all grounded in respect for people, systems thinking, and psychological safety.

• Overcome fear-based cultures that suppress ideas, hide problems, and slow improvement
• Build psychological safety so people feel safe admitting mistakes, raising concerns, and trying new approaches
• Create systems that prevent errors, improve processes, and reduce blame
• Develop a growth mindset that sees setbacks as opportunities rather than personal failures
• Turn vulnerability into a leadership strength, not a liability
• Accelerate learning and continuous improvement across teams and departments

You'll learn how individuals-from startup founders to Fortune 500 executives to frontline healthcare professionals-turned their biggest missteps into turning points. And you'll see how any team can do the same with the right leadership behaviors, habits, and systems.

• Leaders who want to build a culture of continuous improvement
• Executives looking to strengthen innovation, agility, and trust
• Managers who want teams to feel safe speaking up about problems
• Lean practitioners and coaches seeking to reinforce respect for people
• Anyone ready to rethink their relationship with mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable-but the quality of your response isn't. Graban provides questions, tools, and frameworks you can use immediately to shift conversations, redesign processes, and lead in a way that improves performance and engagement.

Whether you're driving transformation, leading a team, or simply striving to grow, The Mistakes That Make Us will help you unlock the hidden value in every misstep.

Buy The Mistakes That Make Us today and start transforming mistakes into your greatest source of learning, innovation, and success.

Review Quotes

"At last! A book about errors, flubs, and screwups that pushes beyond platitudes and actually shows how to enlist our mistakes as engines of learning, growth, and progress."

* Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of DRIVE, WHEN, and THE POWER OF REGRET

"This is a book I'll be recommending to colleagues and friends for years to come."

* Billy Ray Taylor, CEO of LinkedXL

"Mark's exhibition of errors, in The Mistakes That Make Us, not only acknowledges a core human experience that is frequently concealed but also fosters a feeling of togetherness among his audience, inspiring us to persevere in their pursuit of education and personal development."

* Jim McCann, founder & chairman, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, INC.

"...weaves in the tenets for success with real-world examples and lessons that readers can apply right away. It would be a mistake not to read this book!"

* Karen Martin, President & Founder TKMG, Inc. and TKMG Academy, Inc.

"... delves into the ways we can use errors to help build and foster a culture of understanding and continuous improvement."

* Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way

"... a brilliant treatment of this topic that helps us frame mistakes properly, detach them from fear, and see them as expectations, not exceptions."

* Timothy R. Clark, PhD, Author of The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

"Another useful book from Mark Graban!"

* Zeynep Ton, author of The Case for Good Jobs

"It would be a BIG mistake to ignore this wisdom!"

* Richard Sheridan, CEO & Chief Storyteller, Menlo Innovations