Summer heartbreak, plywood people, intensive growth, great work, big mistakes | New at Predictable Success 

So, even the best-laid plans get waylaid. After clearing my August schedule for the incoming LBJ,  family sickness prevented he and his Mom from traveling. *Sigh*. Why did no-one tell me grand-fatherhood was so darn complicated? So instead I was able to extend my visit to Atlanta for an great two days with the indefatigable Jeff Shinabarger and the great folks at Plywood Presents (at right. Photo montage by Jon Woodroff).If you work with a cause-based organization of any sort – or if your business works with or supports them – then you should consider putting the annual Plywood Presents eventon your schedule. Eye-opening, thought-provoking, eclectic and highly professional – a rare combination.The rest of this month I’ll be tweaking the materials for the next two upcoming Predictable Success 1-Day Intensives. If you want to grow your organization, and you need to work with others to achieve that growth, you should seriously consider joining us in either San Francisco or New York. Here’s the skinny, plus three other great resources:

Sept 6th: San Francisco I only teach these 1-day workshops on 4 occasions each year, and only 10 people get to attend each event. The results are outstanding – not just because the Predictable Success / Synergist model is so powerful, but because you get to work with a small group of like-mined people and me for one day to dramatically accelerate the growth of your organization. The next is in SFO on September 6th. Do yourself – and your organization – a favor – register here. Wondering if the results of spending just one day planning your organization’s growth can be that dramatic? Check out what recent attendee  Casey Graham has to say here.

Dec 6th: Manhattan Can’t make San Francisco? The Early Bird Discount is still available for the New York workshop. Also consider bringing other members of your team – registration for additional participants from the same organization are less than half price: I’ve deliberately priced it that way to encourage you to bring one or more colleagues so you can get the most from the day. Like to know more about how the workshop is structured, and what to expect? This 7-page pdf document will tell you all you need to know (right-click and save to your desktop). Got questions? Email me directly – I’m happy to personally answer any questions you have.

I screwed up, and guess who fixed it… My editor at Inc asked if I would contribute a piece on ‘brilliant mistakes’. Hardly a problem. I’ve made so many mistakes in my day that the only problem I had was in deciding which one to share. In the end I decided to share this story of gross ineptitude on my part when I was co-owner of the Pizza Hut restaurant chain in my native Ireland. As you’ll see, I was rescued by someone who taught me a life-lesson about where the answers to problems really lie.

Michael Bungay Stanier knows great work Some people’s brain should be available for rent – and Michael Bungay-Stanier’s is one of them. As well as being wickedly funny, Michael has something close to perfect pitch when it comes to distinguishing really great work from the merely ‘good’. You’ll understand what I mean by that when you listen to my interview with Michael here. You can learn about his work in more detail here. At the very least, sign up for his daily provocations.

Webinar replay: Mission-based organizations Running a church, faith- or mission-based organization, NGO or NFP is tough. I know – I’ve done it many times. I also know that the guilt factor can get high (running a mission-based organization shouldn’t feel like it sucks, right?). Which is why together with my friends at The Rocket Group I delivered this free webinar on Predictable Success for Mission-based Organizations. Here’s the replay, if you missed it. (Some superb questions at the end, by the way.)