OODA Loop. Developed by military strategist and United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd.

Just like the fighter pilot needs a fast OODA loop to keep from getting shot down, Any company, large or small, needs a fast OODA loop to be successful.

Let’s look at each of these four words…

Observe – Oftentimes, it’s relatively easy to observe. You observe the market as it changes. You observe your competition. You observe technology as it evolves. You observe how your product or service is being accepted by your customers. You also might very well see new opportunities for alliances with new partners.

Orient – The next step gets harder. As a result of observing, you probably have to orient. What does this mean? It might mean that you have to get to market faster with a new product or a new software release. It could mean that you realize that you really need a partner. Whatever it means, you probably have to do something differently.

Decide – Now comes the hard part. You have to decide what to do. The Fighter pilot who sees a missile headed at him has no time to delay a decision if he wants to stay alive. Likewise, you cannot delay making those hard decisions that are needed to make your company successful.

ACT! – For the fighter pilot this might be easy. For your company, this might very well be the most difficult step in the OODA loop. While it oftentimes is relatively easy to observe, orient, and decide; acting can be the most difficult. WHY? Taking action moves beyond, talk and meetings and studies to ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING, and most probably, doing something FAST! Taking action might mean actually spending money. Taking action might mean replacing someone. Taking action might mean abandoning a service or product. No matter how you look at it, taking action probably means changing the status quo.

The Bottom line: The company with the fastest OODA loop wins!