The Heart of Business
Team Powder Donut: A Journey of Hope with Gary Thompson
A powdered donut in a minivan sounds like a throwaway moment until you hear what it became. I’m Mo Fathelbab, founder of the International Facilitators Organization, and I sit down with Gary Thompson, chief story catcher and the self-proclaimed donut guy, to unpack how love, loss, and human connection can turn into a mission with real impact. We start with Gary’s path from Ohio to Apple in the early personal computing days, where he meets Maureen, the architect who becomes the love of his life. From there, we move into the work Gary and I did around confidential executive peer groups, including “vaults” built on the same core principles as forum: structure, trust, and what happens in the room stays in the room. We also tackle a question leaders keep asking now that AI is everywhere: if I can get an answer in 10 seconds, why do I need a group? Human intelligence, empathy, and lived experience give these groups their value, creating connections that go far beyond getting an answer. Then Gary shares the story that reshaped everything: Maureen’s breast cancer diagnosis, years of treatment and remission, and the heartbreak of metastatic breast cancer. Out of that grief comes Team Powder Donut, a monthly ritual that becomes a three-year journey to shine a light on all 74 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, capturing stories from patients, caregivers, nurses, oncologists, and researchers inside a Frank Lloyd Wright Airstream recording studio. We also explore what it could look like to bring forum-style support into cancer communities, care teams, and workplaces that are trying to care for employees through the hardest season of their lives. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Please visit www.internationalfacilitatorsorganization.com to learn more about Mo Fathelbab and International Facilitators Organization (IFO), a leading provider of facilitators and related group facilitation services, providing training, certification, marketing services, education, and community for peer group facilitators at all stages of their career.
