
Gary’s Top Ten Resources for Understanding the Entrepreneurial Mindset
August 11, 2020
My interest in entrepreneurship comes from a behavioral perspective. I see the entrepreneurial mindset as a way of thinking that optimizes engagement in ways that extend beyond those who endeavor to start and grow new businesses. My goal is to understand the controllable cognitive, motivational, and situational factors that give rise to the development of entrepreneurial attitudes, behaviors, and skills. I believe that if we can understand these underlying causes, we can create more…
Read more
Fortune Favors the Reliable
November 8, 2019
Learn How to Think (and Act) Like an Entrepreneur Part 6/8 Many famous entrepreneurs appear to have struck gold in their endeavors. Even if we hear the origin story of their success, something is missing from the retelling. In fact, they often took years filled with difficulty and multiple failures to get where they are. At a glance, it looks like luck, a chance encounter with the right person, or stumbling upon a solution…
Read moreGary Schoeniger’s Commencement Address, Pierpont Community & Technical College, 2019
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…
Read moreNew Year, New Mindset: How Public Libraries Can Support Economic Development in Their Communities
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
Read more
Driving Engagement & Innovation in Government
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…
Read more