Edition 1: October '06

Edition Announcement Director's Note Featured Article: Boyd's OODA Loop, by Chet Richards

Boyd's OODA Loop, by Chet Richards

(This short PowerPoint presentation on the Observe-Orient Decide Act (OODA) Loop developed by the late Colonel John Boyd, and adapted and explained by Dr. Chet Richards and used by permission, has been selected to be the first Guest Article for this website.  Understanding the Boyd Loop in the way it was intended, in my opinion, is absolutely crucial for decision makers of this century.  It clearly provides the baseline for all future White Horse effort and discussion.

Chet Richards was a close associate of Colonel. Boyd from the mid-1970s until Boyd’s death in 1997.  Boyd had asked him to review the mathematical portions of his first civilian paper, “Destruction and Creation,” and this led to a collaboration that eventually included applications to business.  Chet owns and operates two sites devoted to John Boyd’s strategic legacy, Defense and the National Interest and Belisarius.com, both listed in “Links.”   Chet is a noted author (work included on this site) and continues to consult and lecture on Boyd’s strategy and its application to business.  He is the only person who has presented Boyd’s 8-hour synthesis of strategy, Patterns of Conflict, since Boyd’s death.) (JEB)
           
It’s worth pointing out that the OODA “loop” is a way of thinking about organizational behavior.  Boyd once called it an “operational scheme for organizational success.”  It provides a common framework to help individuals and organizations focus on ways to improve their competitiveness.  When leaders talk about the need for more implicit communications or the need to improve re-orientation times, people throughout the organization will know what they are talking about and why.  Essentially, the purpose of the OODA loop model is to enable organizations to change their environments before opponents can comprehend.

>>Click here to view a short PowerPoint presentation with notes<<

 

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