Making Better Decisions
Range
management is difficult and complicated. Managers must
continually make decisions that affect the long-term
health of the rangeland and sustainability of ranch.
Decision making can be risky. Everyone makes wrong decisions sometimes, regardless of their education and experience, because no one can completely and accurately predict the future.
Human
nature is often the culprit. We want to believe everything
will be fine; when it isn't we may blame nature or others
rather than realize that we need to improve our decision-making
skills and risk assessment.
Decision making always involves uncertainty. The better we can deal with uncertainty, assess the likelihood of future events, and learn from past mistakes, the better decision makers we will be. Good managers know that they must consider both the present and the future, not sacrificing long-term welfare for short-term profits.