Post: #1

Air Force Colonel John Boyd developed the concept of the OODA loop to try and explain aerial dogfighting.

OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Boyd said that all action is taken through this process. Defeating an opponent requires being faster in all steps.

He believed that Orient was the most important step and required a high level of education and training to do well.

Advanced practitioners can think steps ahead to shape an opponent's observations and actions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop

The OODA loop can be used in sports, business, and the military.

It is obvious that a lot of Game writings implicitly use the idea.

Observe: body language, how she's dressed, etc.

Orient: use your knowledge and experience to plan courses of action.

Decide on a plan.

Act on it.


Each step is connected to all the others by feedback loops.

Post: #2

Somehow this reminds me of the Blake scene in Glengarry Glenross...AIDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AXTx4PcKI

http://www.dcbachelor.com/glengarry-glen-ross

Post: #3

Robert Greene wrote a great piece on OODA.

http://powerseductionandwar.com/ooda-and-you/

The biography on John Boyd is brilliant. When reading it you realize he is on the same level as Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, and Genghis Khan.

It's a shame he never wrote a book on strategy.

Post: #4

In my view, Boyd was the finest strategic thinker of his generation.

The OODA loop is amazing once you get it down, especially the model of getting inside another loop to outmaneuver them by making fast, accurate decisions that leave them constantly having to re-assess the situation.

I'll second renotime's recommendation of the Coram biography of Boyd - "BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art of War", there's a huge amount that can be learned and applied in all kinds of situations. Let me get it down from the shelf and randomly pull out some quotes I'd highlighted:

Quote:Thinking about operating at a quicker tempo - not just moving faster - than the adversary was a new concept in waging war. Generating a rapidly changing environment - that is, engaging in activity so quick it is disorienting and appears uncertain or ambiguous to the enemy - inhibits the adversary's ability to adapt and causes confusion or disorder that, in turn, causes an adversary to overreact or underreact. Boyd closed the briefing by saying the message is that whoever can handle the quickest rate of change is the one who survives.

Quote:A crucial part of the OODA Loop is that once the process begins, it must not slow. It must continue and it must accelerate. Success is the greatest trap for the novice who properly implements the OODA Loop. He is so amazed at what he has done that he pauses and looks around and waits for reinforcements.

Quote:"If you want to understand something, take it to the extremes or examine its opposites," Boyd said. He practiced what he preached. [...] "How long will this go on?" Burton asked. "At some point you have to finish it."
"That time will reveal itself," Boyd said. "I will know. But I am not there yet."

Quote:Those who do not conform will one day realize that the path of doing the right thing has diverged from the path of success, and then them must decide which path they will follow through life.

Quote:"His production comes from about 10% inspiration and 90% a grueling pace that his cohorts find difficult if not impossible to keep up with. He is extremely intolerant of inefficiency and those who attempt to impede his program."

The book also shows you the impact of his brilliance and dedication on his family. To quote Jack Donovan, he was good at being a man, not a good man.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold

Post: #5

Some other quotes from the biography:

“Often, when a man is young and idealistic, he believes that if he works hard and does the right thing, success will follow. This was what Boyd’s mother and childhood mentors told him. But hard work and success do not always go together in the military, where success is defined by rank, and reaching higher rank requires conforming to the military’s value system. Those who do not conform will one day realizes that the path of doing the right thing has diverged from the path of success, and then they much decide which path they will follow through life.”

“Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road,” he said. “And you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go.” He raised his hand and pointed. “If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments.” Then Boyd raised his other hand and pointed another direction. “Or you can go that way and you can do something–for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference. “To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make a decision. To be or to do? Which way will you go?”

“Generating a rapidly changing environment–that is, engaging in actively that is so quick it is disorienting and appears uncertain or ambiguous to the enemy–inhibits the adversary’s ability to adapt and causes confusion and disorder that, in turn, causes an adversary to overreact or underreact. Boyd closed the briefing by saying the message is that whoever can handle the quickest rate of change is the one who survives.”

Post: #6

Some interesting discussion on this Global Guerillas post.

One of the commenters gives a solid example of how OODA applies to business:

Tangurena Wrote:PDCA is great when you don't have competitors breathing down your neck. OODA is a better analogy for marketing when your competitors are able to change what your customers want - and you have to race to keep up with that.

[...]

Microsoft was more concerned with time-to-market and cutting off oxygen to the big blue dinosaur, so they had a very fast and tight cycle in their OODA loop. They were able to "get inside" IBM's OODA loop and gain market domination. Before IBM was able to figure out what the new version had, and could do, Microsoft came out with an even newer version.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold

Post: #7

Venkatesh Rao wrote a post on the OODA loop a couple of years ago.

Post: #8

An applied OODA example from John Robb - OODA Loops and Innovation:

Quote:Orientation is the most critical step (by far) in the OODA.

Orientation is the step that combines everything in an instant -- cultural tradition, morals, training, education, personal experience, emotional intelligence -- in a way that provides a decision with direction, scope, and scale.

Orientation provides us with the cross connections necessary for high quality innovation.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold

Post: #9

I see how orientation is very important, but too me I've always used observing as my most powerful weapon. You know the saying "the devil is in the details" if you do not observe a small detail it can blow your orientation.