by Brooks Mendell | Jul 30, 2024 | Learning, Thinking/Analysis
In college, my friend and mentor Mark Lundstrom taught me that “earning good grades gives you more freedom.” I had struggled as a freshman, and Mark, an actual rocket scientist, talked to me about how getting straight on study habits and academic performance...
by Brooks Mendell | Apr 14, 2024 | Learning, Thinking/Analysis
Classic lessons and finance fundamentals inform my approach to investing. Start saving and investing early to crank the flywheel of compounding interest. Minimize costs to keep more of what you earn. Diversify to mitigate risk. Commit to regular and systematic...
by Brooks Mendell | Dec 13, 2023 | Communication Skills, Learning, Thinking/Analysis
We homo sapiens seem overwhelmed by information, technology, and choices. We sadly struggle to manage the daily deluge, cycling through frustration, indignation, anger, and melancholy. A simple scan of news headlines, op-eds, and online comments can fuel a sense of...
by Brooks Mendell | Sep 20, 2023 | Communication Skills, Learning
After delivering the keynote at AgWest Farm Credit’s “2023 Forest Products Summit” in Portland, I parked myself in a seat on the side to listen and take notes during presentations on geopolitics, macroeconomics, and cybersecurity. This final talk, by Rachel Wilson,...
by Brooks Mendell | Jun 15, 2023 | Learning, Thinking/Analysis
Recently, I wrote a two-part series at Forisk on “Forest Products and the Economics of Timber Markets.” It focused on (1) the practical connection between the things we use and where they come from and (2) methods for organizing our thinking when making...
by Brooks Mendell | Oct 10, 2022 | Communication Skills, Forestry, Leading/Managing, Learning
When I missed the mark in my role as a log buyer and harvest manager in northeast Georgia in the 1990s, Danny Hamsley had a way of setting me straight. It would start with a phone call. “Brooks, I’m riding with you in the woods tomorrow.” Early...
