OODA Loop

The OODA loop is military strategist John Boyd’s framework for combat operations that also turns out to apply quite well to businesses and learning in general. It emphasizes a rapid cycle of Observing, Orienting, Deciding and Acting.

Though it’s not so different from the classic test-learn cycle or a good design process, Boyd’s framework has a lot of nuances. I found applying it to my own life valuable because:

1. The faster you can do this loop—in your work or in a conflict of any kind—the more solutions you can try and the quicker you will learn.
2. If you’re competing against others, completing your OODA loop fast and acting to change the environment for them means you can disrupt their loop and force them back to the observation step before they can act. It slows them down, creates confusion and gives you an advantage.

To apply the OODA loop to a business context, it can help to reconsider the points on the cycle as Frame, Strategize, Test, and Gather.

I learned about it from Reid Hoffman’s excellent Masters of Scale podcast.

The OODA loop features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures

My original OODA loop sketch was an animation