The Effective Ecologist

The author makes use of his extensive experience in many aspects of business and ecology to set out methods for practicing ecologists to provide the relevant material they have been commissioned to supply.

Using practical, genuine examples he details the step-by-step process of getting together a group of ecologists and turning them into an effective team in the office and enabling them to produce and deliver the required report to their employer. This is certainly not easy for the inexperienced, but I feel confident that following Mr Middleton’s advice will ensure many pitfalls are avoided. He sets great store and emphasis on inter-personal relationships and in combining these with the increasingly sophisticated technology now available to many but perhaps understood by few. He deals very well with the intricate dovetailing of an individual into a team, the careful planning and delegation of work responsibilities within a time frame and targets, so that there is little room for misunderstanding. There is a valuable section on how to set up your workspace to maximise efficiency yet remain available to those needing to consult you, both the ones responsible to you and those you are responsible to.

I was most impressed by the emphasis on inter-personal relationships and communication between people as being essential for success. Much of this is extremely straightforward and often neglected. Perhaps the natural human skills of communication have been allowed to fall out of use when technology replaces face to face contact, extremely important when dealing with clients who are unfamiliar with modern ecological jargon. Mr Middleton with great humour indicates that modern etiquette, common sense and pre-planning will avoid pitfalls and counter-productive attitudes and actions. Perhaps this is the 21st Century update of the Armed Services Perfect Planning prevents Poor Performance.  

The text is carefully set out to make it easy to follow, the illustrations by Joan Punteney are both humorous and delightfully detailed, and there is a short but valuable Glossary. I commend it to all ecologists seeking effective communication with everyone else. Wildlife will also benefit greatly.

Book reviewed by Philip Jackson