May 31, 2019

  How Underdogs Win How do underdogs win? This is a question I’ve been pursuing for more than 25 years. How do those who have no particular advantage in life—those who may not be particularly brilliant or creative, those who may not come from privileged backgrounds, those who may not have advanced degrees—manage to rise above their circumstances to create meaningful and prosperous lives? My thought was that if I could somehow understand what makes…

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Learning, Entrepreneurship Education, Human Flourishing, Human Potential, Redefining Entrepreneurship, Student Engagement, Student Success

May 30, 2019

Photo by Stephen Hickman on Unsplash Learn How to Think (and Act) Like an Entrepreneur Part 4/8 Among the most distinguishing characteristics I’ve noticed among entrepreneurs, is an unusual desire to learn. It’s not that they are great students in the traditional sense, (in fact, in many cases, it’s quite the opposite) yet they always seem to be engaged in learning, usually through non-formal and informal means. For example, they learn through observation and inquiry,…

Categories: Employee Engagement, Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Learning, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurial Workforce, Entrepreneurship Education, How to Think and Act Like an Entrepreneur, Human Flourishing, Human Potential, Learning & Development, Student Engagement, Student Success, Workforce Development

March 5, 2019

Photo by Jonathan Francis on Unsplash Learn How to Think (and Act) Like an Entrepreneur Part 3/8 I’ve spent the past two decades exploring the mindset and the methods of every day “unlikely” entrepreneurs—the underdogs and the misfits who somehow manage to transform a simple idea into a sustainable success. My initial thought was that if I could somehow deconstruct the mindset and the methods of these unlikely entrepreneurs, it could be useful – not only to aspiring…

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Learning, Entrepreneurial Mindset, How to Think and Act Like an Entrepreneur, Human Flourishing, Human Potential

February 1, 2019

Network Kansas partner and Ice House Facilitator Jim Correll recently published a blog enumerating the ways a maker space or fab lab can impact a community. Spoiler alert! One of them may or may not be the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program. Read Now    

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurship Education, Uncategorized

January 15, 2019

  Ice House Facilitator Duncan Smith is the Chief Strategist for EBSCO Information Services, a pioneer in the library services industry. After attending certification training in Durham, NC, Duncan was inspired by the potential an entrepreneurial mindset could bring to communities and saw a unique way to engage stakeholders through their public libraries. Spurred on by his new passion, Duncan wrote a blog post illustrating how public libraries are perfectly suited for entrepreneurial learning and activity. Read Now

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Redefining Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized

January 8, 2019

          By Gary Schoeniger & Chris Thompson, president of Civic Collaboration Consultants, LLC We all know that entrepreneurship is vital to creating prosperous communities and the need to encourage and support entrepreneurial activity at all levels of society has never been more important than it is today. After all, entrepreneurs have become the engines of economic growth, not only starting new businesses that create jobs and revitalize our communities but also…

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Learning

December 10, 2018

Photo By Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash Learn How to Think (and Act) Like an Entrepreneur Part 2/8 I’ve spent the past two decades exploring the mindset and the methods of everyday entrepreneurs – the underdogs and the misfits whose only advantage in life is in the way they think. In this second post of an eight-part series, I’ll explore the underlying logic and the cognitive strategies that enable entrepreneurs to recognize opportunities that others overlook.…

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurship Education, Entrepreneurship Training, How to Think and Act Like an Entrepreneur, Human Flourishing, Human Potential, Student Success

May 3, 2018

  (updated on 4/9/2019) Declining Government Employee Engagement Employee engagement is a significant challenge for government agencies. In fact, employee engagement is lower in public sectors than in private sectors. And, while 71% of state and local government employees are not engaged in their work, 17% of those employees are actively disengaged, working against the mission of the organization. Actively disengaged employees are more likely to miss work, quit their job, have more accidents, and…

Categories: Employee Engagement, Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Learning, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurial Workforce, Entrepreneurship Training, Human Potential, Learning & Development, Redefining Entrepreneurship, Workforce Development

April 4, 2018

Entrepreneurial activity is widely recognized as the primary engine of economic growth. By inventing new products and services or improving those that already exist, entrepreneurs create new jobs that generate wealth, revitalize communities, and improve the overall quality of lives. And, fab labs have emerged as a mechanism to stimulate entrepreneurial behavior by providing the community spaces with the equipment and tools needed for tinkering, experimenting, and building. One rural fab lab is “on track…

Categories: Entrepreneurial Culture, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurial Workforce, Entrepreneurship Education, Entrepreneurship Training, Workforce Development