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...
by Brooks Mendell | May 19, 2021 | Communication Skills, Forestry
The late Dr. Alex Shigo, author of accessible books on trees and former Chief Scientist of the U.S. Forest Service, described trees thusly: “Trees are superior survival organisms. They live longer, grow taller, and become more massive than any organism ever...
by Brooks Mendell | Dec 22, 2020 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing
This post introduces an essay with advice on managing a business, setting expectations and working with teams. It is the second in a three-part series on entrepreneurship. Starting Forisk Consulting was not part of a long-term goal. Rather, it came together...
by Brooks Mendell | Jul 31, 2020 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing
This post introduces a recent essay on mobilizing teams and making decisions during difficult times. When faced with ambiguity and uncertainty, we seek solid ground for making decisions. For novel and contentious issues, following our “gut” or simple frameworks may...
by Brooks Mendell | Jun 14, 2020 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing, Thinking/Analysis
In my roles as a business advisor and as a team leader, I have the opportunity to continually discuss and test ideas on managing and making decisions, especially in turbulent times. The intensity and urgency of these conversations increased with the arrival in 2020 of...
by Brooks Mendell | May 25, 2020 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing
In college at MIT, I played baseball for Coach Fran O’Brien. MIT hired Coach O’Brien in 1969. In the twenty seasons prior to Coach O’Brien’s arrival, MIT Baseball had one winning season. He inherited a Division-III, no scholarship, no recruiting team that expected to...
