by Brooks Mendell | Nov 20, 2023 | Books, Sports
In September, I was in Corpus Christi, Texas watching a tennis match and taking notes, when a smiling, clear-eyed gentleman in tennis clothes sat next to me. We chatted about the game and tennis strategies, and then introduced ourselves. “I’m Bobby Hagerman, the...
by Brooks Mendell | Aug 27, 2023 | Books, Sports
Books are magical and the most powerful of technologies. The fact that lines of ink on flattened pulp can transmit ideas, information, and inspiration to our minds remains remarkable to me. This post, one in the periodic “Brooks on Books” series (see “Recommendations...
by Brooks Mendell | Jul 30, 2023 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing, Sports
A friend of mine, a former professional baseball player, recently asked, “who is the best coach you ever had?” I played multiple sports growing up and baseball in college, and this question brought back a double-header of memories, from Coach White teaching us to...
by Brooks Mendell | Feb 15, 2023 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing, Sports
My baseball coach at MIT, Fran O’Brien, reminded us that we will all make errors. The ball will go between our legs. A pop fly will get lost in the sun and fall safely to the ground. But he did not tolerate mental errors. If you missed a sign or failed to hustle,...
by Brooks Mendell | Nov 9, 2022 | Communication Skills, Leading/Managing, Sports
Recently, I attended the visitation in Reading, Massachusetts for Francis O’Brien, my college baseball coach at MIT.[1]In his eulogy, Kevin, the oldest of Coach O’Brien’s five children, said, “As Jackie Robinson said, ‘A life is not important except in the impact...
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...
