The timber companies think in terms of cost-benefit analyses, risk management, and cubic meters of timber -- terms that are quantifiable and can be translated into quarterly returns for shareholders.
It's easy to focus on quarterly returns and keep the financial analysts happy, but that can lead to decisions that damage a firm's long-term viability.
This is not comforting news to corporations who live and die by their quarterly returns, but for generational family-owned operations it's a fact of life.
In today's world, publicly listed companies can no longer maintain a healthy market capitalization by simply attracting investors by reporting good quarterly returns.