The OODA

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The OODA LoopSketch
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Competitive advantage comes from quickness over
the entire loop, not just or even primarily
from the O-to-O-to-D-to-A sequence.
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Pumping up OODA Loop Speed
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
ImplicitGuidance Control
Decision(Hypothesis)
FeedForward
FeedForward
Feedback
Feedback
Interaction permits vitality and growth, while
isolation leads to decay and disintegration.
Strategic Game, 29.
Orientation is the Schwerpunkt. Organic Design,
16.
Emphasize implicit over explicit in order to
gain a favorable mismatch in friction and time.
Organic Design, 22.
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Sometimes, You Just Have to Make a Decision
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
ImplicitGuidance Control
ImplicitGuidance Control
UnfoldingCircumstances
Observations
Decision(Hypothesis)
Action(Test)
FeedForward
FeedForward
FeedForward
OutsideInformation
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
Feedback

• Make (explicit) decisions when you need to
  harmonize the actions of groups of people, i.e.,
  to re-orient them to a new goal or purpose.
• However
• Until they reorient, their actions will still be
  influenced by their implicit guidance and
  controls
• Decision making and reorientation always take time

Feedback
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Operating Inside Their OODA Loop
Its like theyre moving in slow motion. Boyd
describing operating inside opponents OODA
loops.
Its like youre commanding both sides.
typical impression of a successful cheng / chi
operation. cheng - orthodox, expected, while
chi - unorthodox, shocking, irregular. By
operating inside an opponents OODA loop, you
will find it much easier to set up and exploit
cheng / chi situations.
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Boyds OODA LoopSketch
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
ImplicitGuidance Control
ImplicitGuidance Control
UnfoldingCircumstances
CulturalTraditions
Observations
Decision(Hypothesis)
GeneticHeritage
Analyses Synthesis
Action(Test)
FeedForward
FeedForward
FeedForward
NewInformation
PreviousExperience
OutsideInformation
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
Feedback
Feedback
Note how orientation shapes observation, shapes
decision, shapes action, and in turn is shaped by
the feedback and other phenomena coming into our
sensing or observing window. Also note how the
entire loop (not just orientation) is an
ongoing many-sided implicit cross-referencing
process of projection, empathy, correlation, and
rejection. From The Essence of Winning and
Losing, John R. Boyd, January 1996.
Defense and the National Interest,
http//www.d-n-i.net, 2001
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OODA Loop Colour
Boyds OODA Loop
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
ImplicitGuidance Control
ImplicitGuidance Control
CulturalTraditions
UnfoldingCircumstances
Analyses Synthesis
GeneticHeritage
Decision(Hypothesis)
Observations
Action(Test)
FeedForward
FeedForward
FeedForward
PreviousExperience
NewInformation
OutsideInformation
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
Feedback
Feedback
Note how orientation shapes observation, shapes
decision, shapes action, and in turn is shaped by
the feedback and other phenomena coming into our
sensing or observing window. Also note how the
entire loop (not just orientation) is an
ongoing many-sided implicit cross-referencing
process of projection, empathy, correlation, and
rejection. From The Essence of Winning and
Losing, John R. Boyd, January 1996.
Defense and the National Interest,
http//www.d-n-i.net, 2001
7
Evolved OODA LOOP (Peter Hermann)
Schwerpunkt / Telos
(Purpose / Goal)
Observation
Orientation
Decision
Action
Significant Relationships
ImplicitGuidance Control
ImplicitGuidance Control
UnfoldingCircumstances
Values, Culture Traditions
Genetics Physiology
Decision(Hypothesis)
Observations
FeedForward
Action(Test)
FeedForward
FeedForward
Thinking Processes
NewInformation
PreviousExperience
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
OutsideInformation
UnfoldingInteractionWithEnvironment
Feedback
Feedback
Note how orientation shapes observation, shapes
decision, shapes action, and in turn is shaped by
the feedback and other phenomena coming into our
sensing or observing window. Also note how the
entire loop (not just orientation) is an
ongoing many-sided cross-referencing process.