In 1989, the Marine Corps’ maneuver warfare doctrine began to investigate U.S. Air Force Colonel John R Boyd’s “OODA Loop” in attempts to discover how and why rapid decisions are made, and how they can be made even more quickly. OODA is an acronym for Observation-Orientation-Decision-Action, which describes the basic sequence of the decision-making process. Boyd, once a fighter pilot, began developing the concept by studying air combat during the Korean War. American aviators were quite successful compared to their enemy opposite numbers with a 10:1 kill ratio over North Korean and Chinese opponents. Boyd wanted to understand why American pilots did so well and if whatever gave them the edge could be applied in other circumstances. The outcome of his study is what came to be known as the Boyd theory or the OODA Loop.
The OODA Loop applies to any two-sided confrontation, whether the antagonists are individuals or large groups. Each side begins the process of decision-making leading to a course of action by observing himself, the physical circumstances and surroundings in which he finds himself, and the opposing force. On the basis of that observation, he orients himself by making a cohesive mental picture of the circumstances. He makes estimates, assumptions, and judgments to determine what the situation means to him. Based on this orientation, he makes a decision and then puts that decision into motion by acting. Since his actions have altered the situation, he must observe again to see what has changed and what the new circumstances are, and so the loop continues.
This loop shows how decision making, especially in crisis, is a continuous and cyclical process. The leader who can effectively cycle through the loop faster than his opponent is in a tremendously advantageous position. By the time the other side acts, the faster side has already moved on to its next action, so that the slower side’s action is no longer appropriate. Over time, the opposing side’s actions are wrong by larger margins in a collapsing time frame until they eventually become totally ineffective. The leader who accomplishes this mental agility is said to be inside the other side’s OODA Loop, and research suggests that it’s a winning edge.
Tempo and momentum are vital elements generated by decisiveness. By shortening the time needed to plan, make decisions, communicate, and coordinate those actions, the leader can get inside the OODA Loop of his opponent, improving chances for success. Rather than absolute speed, however, this process should be thought of as relative speed. The goal is to be faster than the opponent, rather than just being quick or decisive as an end game. A small advantage exploited repeatedly is often far more decisive in the end than a much faster cycle of only one or two loops. Ultimately, the key is timely application of meaningful action.
Business organizations and individuals cycle through OODA Loops every day. A product manager discovers that a competitor has created a product in direct competition with the one her company produces. Immediately, she looks at the competitor’s production capabilities, observes the consumer environment, and examines the marketing budgets of both products. She thinks about how the new product will affect her own sales. She then decides to implement a new marketing strategy highlighting features the competitor’s new product lacks. She watches the market to see if her product can hold its own or if she needs to take additional action. Action has been taken—the OODA Loop completed—and the next cycle begins depending on how the market responds.
The same cycle occurs in more complicated situations, but the same logic applies. Decision makers gather information (observe), form hypotheses about customer activity and the intentions of competitors (orient), pick a course of action (decide), and execute (act). The cycle is repeated continuously. Other decision makers in the same organization also will be moving through their own loops simultaneously, perhaps with a different tempo. The aggressive and conscious application of the process provides an advantage over a competitor who is merely reacting to conditions as they occur or has insufficient situational awareness. Although business loops often are slower than military or combat loops, the leader who can move through an OODA Loop faster when situations change (like seeing a competitor’s move, seeing how international news is going to affect their product, etc.) is going to come out on top.
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Julia Dye, Ph.D., studied Hoplology, which combines anthropology and military history into the study of human conflict. She currently works at Warriors, Inc., the entertainment business’s premiere military advising company, and is the Publisher here at Warriors Publishing Group.
Her award-winning book, Backbone: History, Traditions, and Leadership Lessons of Marine Corps NCOs, was first published in November, 2011. In his review of the book, GySgt R. Lee Ermey, wrote “OUTSTANDING! A great capture of the Marine NCO. This should be required reading for all Devil Dogs. A big ‘atta boy’ goes to the author.”
Her second book is Through My Daughter’s Eyes. “With unerring accuracy, Dye depicts the preteen mind, with all its angst, emotion, and hard-earned wisdom. What’s unusual in this coming of age story, though, is that Abbie must deal not only with the turbulence of the middle school years, but do it in the context of the particular stresses pressed upon military families whose loved one is deployed to a combat theater…” —Military Writers Society of America
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