Improving Decision Making – How We Think – with André-Jean Maheu
One of the human factors that is common in adventure decision making is motivation. Motivation can cause us to prioritize choices that offer rewards ahead of safety. It can influence us to prioritize meeting our needs ahead of the needs of others. And it can also cause us to prioritize the safety of others ahead of our own personal safety.
One way that we can reduce the chance of our motivation causing errors in our judgement is to ensure that we are prioritizing safety and service in the right order.
In this episode, we are going to discuss the decision-making prioritization model which is commonly used in parts of the snow sports world including at Vail Resorts.
In this episode, André-Jean Maheu joins Chris and Jordy to discuss how our priorities should be influencing our judgement.
AJ is an avalanche professional and member of the Canadian Ski Guide Association. He has also worked as a professional ski patroller for the past 20 years. He is active in many spheres of the avalanche industry including forecasting for industrial operations, search and rescue, and ski resorts as well as instructing and guiding.
AJ leans into his career as a rescuer, avalanche forecaster, ski patroller, first aid instructor and guide to help us to discuss how we can ensure we are prioritizing the right motivations when we are making decisions. We are also going to see if there are some conflicts with how we prioritize safety and service and see if we can reduce the chance of these conflicts impacting our judgement.
Key Takeaways
How the Prioritization Model Works: This works like a checklist that can help us to demonstrate a reasoned thought process that we can explain afterwards.
Prioritization Order: Safet of Self, Safety of Others, Service to Self, then Service to Others.
Rationale: Your safety comes first because you can’t help others if you get hurt. Their safety comes next, because everyone wants to finish the day safe, regardless of their objectives. Then we help other to succeed which helps us to succeed.
Safety of Self: Your safety comes first so you can help to protect others. you should also be making decisions with the idea that you are not just choosing what your current self wants to do. It should also involve how your future self may view the situation and potential consequences.
Safety of Others: Regardless of the objectives people may say they want to achieve, ultimately no one really wants to get hurt. People may think they can accept serious consequences, but when people say or think this, they often don’t really believe bad outcomes will actually happen to them.
Guest Bio
AJ Maheu began his career in the outdoor industry over 30 years ago. After spending a decade instructing, guiding river trips in Québec, and hikes from Alaska to the Andes he shifted his focus to emergency response in remote settings. He worked as a paramedic on worksites on Baffin Island and began a 20-year-career teaching wilderness first aid. He has taught emergency preparedness and first aid in multiple adventure travel guide programs in 6 different colleges and universities across the country.
AJ Maheu is an avalanche professional and member of the Canadian Ski Guides Association. He has also worked as a professional ski patroller for the past 20 years. He is active in many spheres of the avalanche industry including forecasting for industrial operations, search and rescue, and ski resorts as well as instructing and guiding.
AJ has been producing the North Shore Snowpack YouTube channel, providing weekly snowpack information to backcountry users and is a brand ambassador for Nano Traino, manufacturer of high quality, packable emergency evacuation toboggans. When not working, he is busy delivering adventures for his 2 boys, taking them on family adventures.
Guest Links
North Shore Snowpack YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@northshoresnowpack?si=eZClzV6KePi3hYwb
Nano Traino: https://nanotraino.com/en/
André-Jean Maheu Contact: amaheu@alpinesolutions.com
