| dc.description.abstract | Although the strategic ideas of John Boyd encompass much more than the well known OODA loop, the loop does provide a concise framework for improving competitive power throughout an organization. Much of this power will be lost, however, by regarding the loop as a simple, sequential, and circular pattern. The one sketch of the OODA loop that Boyd drew in any of his works, however, bears little resemblance to this popular misconception. That one is the key to his entire philosophy of conflict. This paper is intended primarily for those who lead teams in conflict, i.e., zero- sum interactions against other groups where independence or even survival itself is at stake. The OODA loop provides them with a comprehensive, if highly con- densed, framework for achieving Boyd’s strategic goal, which might be described as “creativity under fire” by their teams. The OODA loop is especially amenable to an ancient pattern of actions that Boyd developed as a fighter pilot and then discovered that it could be documented back to at least the time of Sun Tzu. This paper describes Boyd’s OODA loop and how it assists practitioners in employing this ancient pattern. It ends by suggesting actions organizations can take to improve their operations in the manner suggested by the OODA loop. | en_US |
