What you can learn from fighter pilots about making. The ooda loop helps us process and respond to information coming at us very quickly. The ooda loop is often depicted as a simple sequential process. In the mid1950s, colonel john boyd created ooda loops for the purpose of revolutionizing air combat strategy. The ooda loop is faster when an f35 pilot turns his head to engage an adversary, not the aircraft. Ooda loop by john boyd, a great decision making tool toolshero. What the heck is an ooda loop customer manufacturing group. It is a process that defines how we humans react to stimulus. His concept of the ooda loop helped guide the us military during two wars against saddam husseins iraq. The ultimate guide to the ooda loop how to turn uncertainty.
Once the ooda loop becomes part of their mental toolboxes, they should be able to cycle through it in a matter of seconds. May 04, 2010 john boyd was a fighter pilot in the korean war, an instructor at the us air force fighter weapons school, and arguably americas greatest military thinker of the 20th century. Getting inside, the enemies strategic loop requires the ability to quickly mount abrupt, unexpected, and disorienting maneuver, much like creating and exploiting a market niche, one might say p. John boyd, the ooda loop, and americas war on terror daniel ford. Since i just stated that once the ooda loop process is started, it must always follows through fun start to finish, then how is this possible. Ooda loop experts question abrupt decision by new york city.
Boyd is best known for his brilliant and original concept of command and control c2 processes, the socalled observation, orientation, decision, action ooda loop. By using this ooda loop you are able to continuously adapt to changing circumstances and use this to draw on your strengths. Dec 04, 2008 the ooda loop, for example, is often cited as a strategy in business, law and sports. Boyd developed the theory based on his earlier experience as a fighter pilot and work. Mar 23, 2019 in a headtohead competition, like airtoair combat, a violent confrontation in a parking lot, or even political contests, the person who can cycle through the ooda loop the fastest wins. In this short book, daniel ford applies boyds thinking to the problem of counterinsurgency. Although ooda was clearly created for military purposes, elements of the same theory can also be applied to business strategy.
Sep 12, 20 the brainchild of nowdeceased air force colonel ret john boyd, ooda short for observe, orient, decide, and act became a cornerstone of training for airtoair combat in the latter half of the. It is referred to as a loop because its designed to be repeated immediately upon completion. The ooda loop describes what are quite complex c2 processes. Knowing that the ooda loop exists and that we are all in effect, slaves to it, gives us the opportunity to analyze it, address it and with proper training use it to our advantage. Since excessive performance doesnt enhance the pilots ability to execute the fifthgeneration ooda loop, it didnt make the cut. She has read over 10,000 books and watched less than an hour of reality tv. The ooda loop is the cycle observeorientdecideact, developed by military strategist and united states air force colonel john boyd.
They dont have time to list pros and cons or to consider every available avenue. In war, business, or life, the ooda loop can help you grapple with. In this short book, daniel ford applies boyds thinking to the problem of counter insurgency. Ooda loop news newspapers books scholar jstor march 2018 learn how and when. To add another important dimension to your competitive intelligence analysis work, consider observe, orient, decide, act ooda loops. Rather than trying to rise through the military ranks, boyd focused on using his position as colonel to compose a theory of the universal logic of war. Many of americas bestknown military and political leaders consulted boyd on matters of technology, strategy, and theory. The concept now applies to every level of military.
Much of boyds thinking resulted in the concept of the ooda loop. It is used when rapid, on the fly planning and decision are necessary. Obviously, the observe step in the loop is what most people associate situational awareness with. They make sudden moves to trick their opponents into making bad choices. While greater speed is clearly an advantage in combat, viewing the ooda loop through the lens of faster is better oversimplifies the model, and prevents combatants from realizing the full potential of this decisionmaking framework. Armed services for their collective inability to think critically, to adapt, or to innovate quickly. The ooda loop for observe, orient, decide, and act is a concept originally applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations. Ooda loop thankfully, the technology to combat rogue drones. John boyd and the ooda loop us army war college war. The concept was developed by military strategist and usaf colonel john boyd. He sees col boyds influence in the concept of isolating components of the enemies system to include individuals and groups of individuals. This article is my attempt to explain what the ooda loop is by using examples from business, the military and sport to demonstrate how universally applicable it is. The ooda loop is natural and replaces traditional game rules which speed up the game and makes it easier to play. The only way that the ooda loop s process can be speeded up is by removing steps from the process.
What the heck is an ooda loop and why should you even care. Learn how to use the ooda loop observe, orient, decide and act by john boyd to help you make faster and accurate personal business decisions. Since john boyd came up with his observeorientdecideact loop the ooda loop, many in various military communities have been fixated in achieving decisionaction supremacy by turning the ooda loop faster and faster. Could we have gotten inside osama bin ladens ooda loop. In air combat boyd was talking about using his senses to collect information about the current situation. The ooda loop is one of the most valuable, yet poorly understood theories. The loop is a concept originally designed to help service members with combat process operations, particularly at the campaign level. The lecture was plagued by avwankers to the point that i thought the talk was a shambles. How to develop situational awareness the art of manliness. The ooda loop and situational awareness shooters haven. Pdf comparing ooda and other models as operational view. In the military, the ooda loop is often used as a synonym for decision making. The ooda loop, intuition, and strategic thought machines dont fight wars.
This article describes the concept op the ooda loop, developed by john boyd in a practical way. Mar 11, 2017 the output of the orientation is options, which is the fuel for the decision portion of the ooda loop. His approach consisted of training pilots to predict what enemy fighter pilots would do based on their purpose, intent, and. The ooda loop is an oftcited, but typically misunderstood idea. The output of the orientation is options, which is the fuel for the decision portion of the ooda loop. How to gain insight from competitive intelligence and ooda. Whats more, when you move from a bootsontheground tactical level to. His concept of the ooda loop helped guide the us military during two. His notions of time cycles and competitive behavior known as the ooda loops observation, orientation, decision and action have influenced not only military combat but also business models in the u. The ooda loop kinda represents how humans and organizations learn. While explaining the decision tree for civilians, i say that our options are to control, call, capture, the anomaly, when the decision tree is to control, call, contact an anomaly that you identify.
This article will give you the understanding you need to turn ambiguity into advantage and risk into results. Ooda is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to. Historically, the ooda loop for observe, orient, decide, and act is a concept originally applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations. This is why malfunction drills are important in firearms training. He was a student of air combat and found that in the korean war, usaf pilots flying the inferior f86 were consistently beating the koreans in the mig15. Thats one element of the ooda loop, but theres much more to it than.
In other words, they try to disorient the other pilot. Like the em concept once somebody thinks of it the ooda loop is obvious, but only after boyd developed it. Ooda loop thankfully, the technology to combat rogue. Us air force colonel john boyd 19271997 developed the ooda loop for decision making in times of military air combat, but the model has more general business appeal. Understanding the ooda loop will make you a success in life and in business. Uses the ooda loop as a core construct for a litigation strategy system unifying psychology, systems theory, game theory and other concepts from military science. After reading you will understand the basics of this powerful decision making process tool. Developed by the late air force colonel john boyd to simplify the rapidfire life and death decisions made during aerial combat. When suntzu met clausewitz a modified and expanded version of my long essay for strategic dimensions of contemporary warfare, when i worked toward a degree in war studies at kings college london. The only way to shorten your ooda loop is through training, this is known as conditioned reflex or muscle memory. Boyds ooda loop enabled him to keep his head clear in the heat of the moment.
The ooda loop explained knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty. A former rf4c pilot with intense combat experience over the skies of vietnam, and the cocreator of scrum, dr. This is a thesis written in partial completion of a masters degree. Aaron cowan discusses mindset and the ooda loop as it applies to firearms training and selfdefense shooting during a sage dynamics defensive handgun. Loop is a process we go through hundreds if not thousands of times in a single day. Ooda is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments. Out of this comes his famous ooda loop, observeorientdecideact. Em theory would revolutionize the way airtoair combat was taught and. The ooda model observe, orient, decide, and act is an information strategy concept for information warfare developed by colonel john boyd 19271997. In the book attrition, chapter hierarchy of combat, depuy describes an action as a single combat encounter between two forces, neither larger than a battalion or smaller than a squad, in which each side has a tactical.
This article will give you the understanding you need to turn ambiguity into advantage and. Maj brown describes the enemy as a system of human wills. Introduction to the strategic theories of john boyd. Fighter pilots must make many decisions in fast succession. The ooda loop was a tool developed by military strategist john boyd to explain how individuals and organizations can win in uncertain and chaotic environments. By attacking the thought process of the enemy competitor, his morale and decision process can be shattered. Boyd quotes by robert coram meet your next favorite book. The ooda loop is a repeatable process for making better decisions. Marine corps officer, fighter pilot, ground combat leader and now a leadership instructor and speaker with echelon front, where he serves as director of leadership development and alignment programs.
Boyd also served to revolutionize airtoair combat in that he was the author of the aerial attack study. The most amazing aspect of the ooda loop is that the losing side rarely understands what happened. Bob gourley is the cofounder and chief technology officer cto of ooda llc, the technology research and advisory firm with a focus on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity which publishes and. John boyd, the ooda loop, and americas war on terror, greenwich, london. I like that it isnt just about death and destruction, mary ellen boyd said. The behaviors and observation process written about in left of bang. The brainchild of nowdeceased air force colonel ret john boyd, ooda short for observe, orient, decide, and act became a cornerstone of training for airtoair combat in the latter half of the. It is now also often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes. If youve heard of it, it was most likely presented in a fairly superficial way as a 4step decisionmaking process where the individual or group who makes it through all the stages the quickest, wins. How the marine corps combat hunter program can save your life support people as they go through the ooda loop by speeding up. Taking this systems view of the ooda loop, the true vision of john boyd begins to emerge. Tactics and the ooda loop a while back, andy casavant wrote an article titled tactical planning for every officer.
The navys manual on command and control, ndp 6, explicitly states that the naval commanders decision and execution cycle is the ooda loop. Boyd applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the operational level during military campaigns. Certain to win by chet richards is a great book on his ideas applied to business. Shaping and adapting unlocking the power of colonel john boyds ooda loop. The manual goes on to depict a twosided ooda loop model relating enemy and friendly decision. The overlooked role of information resource management in information warfare. In the 1980s, he and a small cadre of pentagon reformers use these techniques to fight the. Aug 02, 2017 the ooda loop was a tool developed by military strategist john boyd to explain how individuals and organizations can win in uncertain and chaotic environments. My keynote lecture at smaccchicago was on ooda loops and the supremacy of system i for resuscitation.
Ooda loop oodacast a conversation with dan gerstein. This is a fallacy and ignores the fact that combat is an inherently interactive endeavour there is always a thinking opponent. The ooda loop has since been used as the core for a theory of litigation strategy that unifies the use of cognitive science and game theory to shape the actions of witnesses and opposing counsel. When you have to make a decision in a hurry, you need to ensure that it is the right decision. Ooda loop by john boyd, a great decision making tool. Boyd s observeorientdecideact ooda loop is a model of decisionmaking created from observing jet fighter pilots in combat.
In the popularized interpretation, the ooda loop suggests that success in war depends on the ability to outpace and outthink the opponent. There can be as few as 2 options, or as many as 50 or more. Bob has been an advisor to dozens of successful high tech startups and has conducted. In combat, fighter pilots try to win by confusing the opposing pilot. If you can work them into your practice sessions, you will know how to act when they occur at the moment of truth. The navy and air force combine efforts in addressing the ooda loop in varying ways and degrees. Boyds ooda loop is often depicted as a simple fourstage linear cycle. The ooda loop observe, orient, decide and act is clear, concise and most importantly an effective explanation of what happens in combat. May 02, 2019 the ooda loop is an oftcited, but typically misunderstood idea.
As an fa18 pilot he deployed twice from the uss john c stennis in support of combat operations in iraq and afghanistan. Professionals find this strategy compelling because of its commonsense approach to decisionmaking and its emphasis on staying competitive. A critique of the boyd theory is it relevant to the. A better peace continues its series on great strategists with a look at airpower theorist john boyd, who conceived of the ooda observe, orient, decide, and act loop. The letters ooda make up the acronym for the terms in their sequential order that describe the sequence. The ooda loop was developed by military strategist john boyd. The many faces of war isnt a comfortable book, but its a damn good one. Boyd applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the. I am rerecording the lecture here for emcrit and the smacc site. By understanding that speed and timing are complementary, the potential of the ooda loop can be maximized by. The ooda loop was a tool developed by military strategist john boyd to explain how individuals and organizations can win in uncertain and chaotic environments it is an acronym that explains the four steps of decisions making. Osinga 2005 described the usual interpretation of the ooda loop as a tool for strategy. It uses a 4 point decision making loop to support quick, effective and proactive decision making. Best known for his formulation of the ooda loop as a model for competitive decision making, colonel boyd was also an original thinker in developing tactics for airtoair combat, designing warplanes, and the fluid, mobile warfare known to the germans as blitzkrieg and to modern armies as maneuver warfare.
Ooda was developed by the military strategist and the united states air force colonel john boyd, who conceived of the process to help with success in airtoair combat during the korean war. The ooda loop kinda represents how humans and organizations learn, grow, and survive. Jeff sutherland, he often proclaimed that ooda is the mindset of scrum. Wikipedia defines the phrase ooda loop as the decision cycle of observe, orient, decide, and act, developed by military strategist and usaf colonel john boyd. John boyd was a fighter pilot in the korean war, an instructor at the us air force fighter weapons school, and arguably americas greatest military thinker of the 20th century. The essence of the ooda loop concept is to ascertain and exploit strategic advantage over an enemy before the enemy has time to react. Ooda contd decision consider options and select a subsequent course of action action carry out the conceived decision once the result of the action is observed, you start over note that in combat or competing against the competition, you want to cycle through the four steps faster and better than the enemy, hence, it is a loop. The ooda loop is one of the most valuable yet poorly understood theories that exists. The suspect has cycled through his first ooda loop and is standing with his hands up. It is an acronym that explains the four steps of decisions making. The ooda loop has been adapted to become an important concept in various fields such as business, game theory, information security, law enforcement, litigation, marketing and military strategy. John boyd developed the ooda loop based on his experiences as a fighter pilot during the korean war and later as an instructor. Colonel boyd, known as the fighter pilot who changed the art of war, was an f86 pilot and commander of a fighter.
Or more to the point, the way most people in the military talk about it is useless. This is true whether the loop is applied in combat, in competitive business practices, in sports, or in personal relationships. The insight led him in time to the ooda loop the concept that all combat, indeed all human competition from chess to soccer to business, involves a continuous cycle of observation, orientation, decision, and action. Boyd applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations.