by Brooks Mendell | Sep 29, 2021 | Thinking/Analysis
Four years ago, in September 2017, spacesuit technician Joseph Schmitt passed away at 101. The Economist magazine reported how, at NASA, Schmitt helped design and fit spacesuits during the years when Alan Shepard made America’s first manned space flight (1961), John...
by Brooks Mendell | Sep 11, 2021 | Books
When visiting family or eating with friends (or interviewing job candidates), I often ask “what are you reading?” I find books or other long form writing a better source of conversational kindling than discussing the weather, recent doctor visits or the op-ed pages. A...
by Brooks Mendell | Aug 17, 2021 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing
According to the late author and management expert Peter Drucker,[1] “one either meets or one works.” While our sympathies agree with this, we’ve also experienced effective, well-run meetings that got things done. Meetings either leverage or waste company...
by Brooks Mendell | Jul 24, 2021 | Communication Skills, Forestry, Thinking/Analysis
In 2012, the Forest History Society published “Wood for Bioenergy: Forests as a Resource for Biomass and Biofuels,” a book I co-authored with Amanda Lang. It serves as a primer on the markets, policies and technologies associated with wood pellets, liquid...
by Brooks Mendell | Jun 24, 2021 | Communication Skills
This post introduces an essay on leading and facilitating effective teamwork and meetings. Meetings fail for three primary reasons. One, the purpose was unclear. Two, meetings fail because they are poorly planned. Three, meetings fail because they are poorly...
