No one gets up in the morning and thinks: “Hmm, Today I should go and make some bad decisions.”

We go to work with the intention of solving a problem or creating a solution.

But decisions have consequences, known or unknown. Wise decisions are made after all the relevant information gathered has been understood. Many good intentional decisions have had catastrophic consequences, often way out of the initial sphere of influence.

Have you heard about the prickly consequences of Prickly Pear?

The first recorded introduction of prickly pear was attributed to Governor Phillip at Port Jackson in 1788. The reason for introducing the plant was to create a cochineal industry in the new colony.

Cochineal is an insect that feeds on certain species of cactus and from which a scarlet dye is obtained. This dye was used to colour the distinctive red coats of the British soldiers at that time

The Prickly Pear soon became the enemy and it was cut down, but Pear does not simply die when cut down.

Prickly Pear easily grows from leaves or even part of the leaves. After the great drought of 1902, the spread became rapid as cattle and sheep were being fed on the Pear.

Prickly pear infestations covered 10 million acres (4 million ha) of land by 1900 and 58 million acres (24 million ha) by 1920. Despite every control effort, it was estimated that the plant’s rate of advance was 2.4 million acres (1 million ha) per year. By 1925, 264,000 square kilometres was under pest.

The Prickly Pear Travelling Commission was formed and the members of this commission travelled to other countries where cacti occurred either as indigenous or naturalised species. A natural enemy of the Prickly Pear, an insect Cactoblastis was introduced from South America and the results were spectacular. Between 1930 and 1932, a tremendous Cacoblastis population explosion occurred, resulting in the literal collapse of miles of Pear, the insects having reduced the plants to a decayed pulp.

Life sure is full of issue’s, risks and surprises! Experience is defined as the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something. Which equips us to make better decisions and contemplate risks involve in taking a certain cause of action.

Risk reflects a potential occurrence as opposed to an issue, which denotes an actual event.

“This difference between a risk and an issue is an important one, because the former involves management through planning, forecasting, and analysis, whereas the latter requires administration and execution.” According to Michael Thorn.

This is where Fortix can help. We exist to help established businesses realise their enormous potential and minimise their risk. With a full arsenal of over 40 different Reports, all relevant information is present for you make informed decisions. We help you to visualise the current state of your business and in doing so increase the power of your ‘heartbeat’. Read more about – Data Visualisation – What it should mean to you.

At the heart of any organisation are its people, its processes and its systems. With our collaboration functionality, every team member is able to contribute to solving a problem.

With our vast knowledge and experience, we pump new life into every part of your business, enabling all vital areas to function at optimal capacity. Our systems help you to manage your customer relationships, leads and sales, communication and workflow, all with one integrated system.

Have you made some decision that led to unintended consequences? We would love to hear how you responded. [email protected]

 

Photo credit: Martin LaBar (going on hiatus) via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC