The Mistakes That Make Us The Mistakes That Make Us
The Mistakes That Make Us · Mark Graban
Help people turn mistakes into learning and improvement.
Help people speak up, learn together, and turn mistakes into improvement.
Through real stories and practical lessons, The Mistakes That Make Us shows how leaders can build a culture of learning and innovation—one response at a time.
Preview includes the introduction, part of Chapter One, and the table of contents. Email registration required.
For leaders, teams, and anyone willing to learn
Make the next conversation more useful.
Speak up sooner
Understand what helps people share mistakes and concerns while there is still an opportunity to act.
Respond constructively
Replace reflexive blame with curiosity about what happened and what can be improved.
Learn together
Use small experiments and shared reflection to turn an experience into a better way of working.
Stories from healthcare, manufacturing, software, and even whiskey distilling make the ideas concrete. Explore what is in the book.
Perspectives from people who study and practice improvement
“Another useful book from Mark Graban! Creating the conditions to surface and learn from mistakes not only drives continuous improvement and innovation but also good jobs.”
— Zeynep Ton, MIT Sloan professor and author
“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
Read the full endorsements · Explore reader reviews
About the recognition
Winner · Business: Problem Solving
Choose how you want to read.
The same ideas, in the format that fits your day. Current prices and delivery details are available from each retailer.
Paperback and hardcover for reading, annotating, and sharing.
Audiobook
More than five hours, narrated by Mark Graban.
Prefer another language? Explore translated editions.
Meet the author
Mark Graban
Author, speaker, and consultant who connects psychological safety with practical improvement. His work draws on decades in manufacturing and healthcare, and conversations with people willing to share what they learned from a mistake.
Give your team a shared starting point.
Bring the book into a team discussion, explore a group order, or invite Mark to help start the conversation.
Start with a few pages.
See whether the stories and approach fit the challenges you are working on.