The OODA Loop is a simple idea and a big concept. Its the idea that we loop through four steps. We Observe what's happening; Orient against a plan or desired state; Decide what to do and Act to address the mis-match between actual and desired.
Adjusting the shower is a great example.
The OODA Loop concept developed to explain the relative success of fighter pilots in WWII dog fights. Pilots who could Observe the enemy aircraft, Orient between the directions and distances, Decide how to respond and Act faster than their foe did better and lived longer. See Wikipedia OODA Loop
An important part of OODA Loops is Delay. Delay between Action and Observation. Delay between Observing and Orienting. Delay in Deciding; and delay in Acting. Often there is delay between several steps. So one solution is remove the delays.
Another important part of OODA Loops is Observing something other than the root cause. This happens all the time. We see what's happening one step ahead. But the signs were there, further up stream if only we could see or pay attention. Deciding to brake based on the tail lights of the car in front rather than the vehicle 10 cars in front causes fender benders. So another rule to fix OODA Loops is to look as far ahead as you can.
Mistakes are made with Orienting. Typically orienting too the wrong thing. Referencing history when the causal relationships have changed. So Orienting appropriately and 'triaging' on several relative points helps.
Making decisions based on the wrong decision framework and taking action too slowly are the final ways to weaken your OODA Loop.
So, the faster we are at Observing and Orienting, Deciding and Acting the more likely we are to succeed. Tightening the OODA loop requires:
- looking as far ahead as possible
- orienting quickly against a plan, expectations and history or preferably all three
- using the right decision framework to quickly decide what to do
- implementing according to the decision without delay
Systems Dynamics play tricks with organizations. Cause and effect are separated in time. Effects are non linear. Systems Dynamics confuse us. We are tempted to break the problem into parts and manage the parts independently. It makes the problem worse and we loose sight of the whole. We optimize the parts and sub-optimize the whole system. See Wikipedia on Systems Dynamics. Really technical stuff is done by mathematicians with Cray computers to solve Systems Dynamics. But for the manager in a hurry, tightening OODA Loops is practical and will help.
So go ahead! Tighten your OODA Loop!
Bath Time Question: Where does an OODA Loop impact you today? What can you do to tighten it? What the impact be significant?
