Decision-making

In the early 1950’s there was a fighter pilot/tactician named John Boyd, who set out to determine how one pilot gained an advantage on another in a dog fight.  He put his thoughts down in a tactical concept that became known as the OODA Loop.  His thoughts and theories are still taught as a basis for military decision-making.

He broke down  decision-making into four simple and separable steps each of which is critical to success.  OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act.  He believed if you can turn inside your opponent’s decision-making process, if you can react quicker then he or she, you would come out victorious.

Observe - What is the situation, what is your opponent doing or is likely to do?

Orient – What is your relative position to the opponent or the problem?

Decide – What course of action brings you into a position of advantage based on the first two?

Act – quickly take decisive action to implement your decision, but as you do begin observing to determine your next action.

I think this remains good advice for us in normal life as well as when pulling 9 g’s in a turning fight at 30,000 feet.