ORIENTATION: THE KEY TO THE OODA LOOP

John Boyd's research began by his quest for understanding why Americans fl ying an inferior airplane in Korea had a higher kill ratio than the adversary. He completed it with his much discussed and written about OODA Loop. What I find quite interesting is that almost everyone agrees that the most important part of the Loop is “Orientation“. I heartedly agree. If Orientation is the most important element, for lack of a better word, why do we suggest that the fi rst step is to observe? Orientation drives observation and not the other way around. I will focus my discussion on this portion of the OODA Loop. I conclude the discussion by linking Col. Boyd's cycle to leadership and organizational structure.