Please join us this coming Wednesday (April 28 2010) where Wendy Ulrich author of a new book entitled: “The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win” (available in June from McGraw Hill) will be speaking. For more information, see “The Why of Work” website here.

Wendy Ulrich, holds a PhD in psychology and education from the University of Michigan, an MBA from UCLA, and a BA from Brigham Young University.  Former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists (AMCAP), she was a psychologist in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for almost 20 years.  She is the founder of Sixteen Stones Center for Growth in Alpine, Utah, providing seminar-retreats on forgiveness, loss, spirituality, and personal growth for both lay individuals and mental health professionals.  Her publications include books, professional articles and book chapters in both psychology and business.  She has done consulting and training for such corporations as Marriott, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, United Way, and Results Based Leadership Group, and has taught and supervised graduate students at Brigham Young University.  She and her husband Dave Ulrich co-authored the forthcoming The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win (available in June from McGraw Hill).

Dave’s Topic:

Leadership Scalability

Are you designed for scalability? Do you live your entrepreneurial life in a way that you can continue to grow? Or, are you simply rising to your level of incompetence and about to plateau. By adopting a few simple approaches in your mindset and skill set you can create an unlimited future.

Learn how to:
Accelerate your learning curve
Develop a mindset to meet and overcome all obstacles
Align your strengths with the critical path to success

Dave’s Bio:

Dave Jennings is an expert on leadership and change. He focuses on accelerating leader’s impact.
Dave obtained his PhD at the University of Utah where he studied “Change Resilience.”
He is author of Catapulted: How Great Leaders Succeed Beyond Their Experience as well as many leadership articles.
Dave has advised, coached and trained leaders from blue-chip companies such as Deloitte, Intel, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Oracle as well as various government organizations.
At Microsoft, Dave developed the Leading Change Program they adopted globally.
Dave also created the Microsoft Executive Development program which is rated as one of the all time best programs at Microsoft.
He has spoken internationally to leaders in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, and South Africa.
Dave was featured nationally on Fox News Radio commenting on leadership issues of Barack Obama.
Raised in Las Vegas, Dave now lives in Alpine with his wife and four daughters where they have taken on a house renovation project.

Learn more about Dave at: http://www.davejennings.com

Listen to our NPR Interview (Part 1): Mike Flathers – Students and Industry Connect.

Listen to our NPR Interview (Part 2): Shirlayne Quayle – What Gangplank Utah is all about.

Don’t forget to come to our next gathering Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at:

Lassonde Entrepreneur Center on the University of Utah Campus

85 Fort Douglas Blvd

Salt Lake City, Utah 84113

‘Gangplank Utah’ Creates Gathering Place for Individuals, Ideas and Innovation

•  Employees of Sorenson Media and TechTITANS Student Innovation Society Based at the University of Utah Promote Collaborative Community Concept Begun in Phoenix, Ariz.

•  Freelancers, Industry Pros, Small-Business Owners, Students to Meet in Informal, Unofficial Setting, Learn What Others Are Working On, Share Possibilities

•  Weekly Evening Meetings Begin Wed., Sept. 23, at Utah Entrepreneur Center

SALT LAKE CITY (Sept. 21, 2009)—A group of Utahns has organized an independent, statewide idea and technology environment open to everyone who wants to expand their circle of relationships and knowledge by collaborating, creating and innovating. Based on the successful Gangplank organization started in Phoenix, Ariz. in 2008, Gangplank Utah (gangplankut.org) brings together individuals, micro-business owners, industry veterans, university students and others in an informal setting to share ideas in an open, collaborative community.

“Gangplank embodies a very powerful idea,” said organizer Mike Flathers, chief technology officer of Sorenson Media, a Salt Lake video encoding, publishing and delivery business. “I’ve worked closely with the group in Phoenix for a long time and am constantly impressed by what they have accomplished. I’ve always felt that creativity is fostered by individuals gathering in a low-key situation and sharing in an open atmosphere. Already, Gangplank in Phoenix has sparked several successful partnerships. The student-industry connection is one of the most exciting aspects of Gangplank Utah. It adds a new aspect to what they have done in Phoenix.”

Interested individuals will gather every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 23 at the Gangplank Utah facility located in the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center, 85 Fort Douglas Blvd., on the University of Utah campus. Meetings include live video feeds between the Salt Lake and Phoenix groups. Person-to-person interaction and brainstorming will bring new ideas to light, said organizers, and the space has Internet access and workstations.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity for students from around the state to rub shoulders with industry veterans and successful businesspeople in a casual environment,” said organizer Shirlayne Quayle, director of the University of Utah’s Sorenson Innovation Center, home of the TechTITANS Student Innovation Society. “When imaginative students interact with resourceful entrepreneurs there’s always economic development potential, but that is not what is most important. Gangplank in Phoenix has a lot of momentum because they are doing the right thing for the right reasons—it’s more about giving than taking. The University of Utah is providing neutral ground to create a community of individuals with many different talents in which collaboration beats out competition.”

Gangplank Utah is different from user groups and technology councils because it is committed to supporting individuals rather than companies, said Flathers. It does have backing from local business, but is independent and not driven by any company agenda. “We want to break down walls. At Gangplank, each individual is both a mentor and a student, and no one has a lock on good ideas.”

For more information about Gangplank Utah, visit: http://gangplankut.org/ 

# # #

Press Contact

Shirlayne Quayle

University of Utah

801.585.7139

shirlayne.quayle@utah.edu

Jacob Moon

Sorenson Media Public Relations

801.490.1017

jacob@sorensoncompanies.com

Please come and share ideas or just hang out and enjoy the company, food, and drink. Gangplank Utah’s gatherings are extremely informal so you can feel free to drop by at any time and stay as little or as long as you like.