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...
by Brooks Mendell | Aug 21, 2022 | Learning, Thinking/Analysis
We share the brain of our ancestors. The humans of one hundred thousand years ago, as they started migrating from Africa, toted between their ears brains similar to the ones we carry today.[1] The average homo sapiens on the street, with a comparable mental engine to...
by Brooks Mendell | Jul 27, 2022 | Communication Skills, Learning
The question “how do I teach this to them” has puzzled presenters, professors, and parents since the Greco-Roman god Apollo taught Chiron, his foster son and polymathic centaur, how to throw a curveball. In this post, I share an approach for...
by Brooks Mendell | Jun 18, 2022 | Communication Skills, Learning, Thinking/Analysis
As a writer, I read a lot of books and articles, listen closely to how people talk, and take notes to capture ideas, lunch orders, and fun phrases. Here are ten observations and quotes from my scribblings with thoughts on how or why I found each to be helpful (or...
by Brooks Mendell | Apr 29, 2022 | Learning, Sports, Thinking/Analysis
Seneca wrote, “do not be unhappy before the crisis comes…” Avoid imagined sorrows and anticipated anxieties. Be present. See the big picture. Understand how things work. Control what you can. Thanks for the fortune cookies, Brooks. Yeah, I hear you. But I also hear...
