OODA loops are an aspect of decision-making that is brain-dead simple but has wide-spread daily implications.

OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. It’s called a loop because it is a recurring cycle.

The OODA loop was created by Col. John Boyd to describe the necessity for fighter pilots to execute the loop faster than the enemy. The slower one always dies.

This idea has been extended to the strategic arena also. Those who can observe, orient, decide and act first generally win.

Cycle time counts.

An example from real-life

My wife and I had our two grown children and my father-in-law over for dinner. We put a steak on the grill, then went inside to have drinks and a conversation. I had put the electric burner on “high” to get it up to temperature faster.

We were distracted by both the drinks and the conversation until my son observed smoke coming from the grill.

We rushed outside and quickly oriented ourselves to the situation, noting the flare-up and that the grill was a safe distance from the wall and any flammable material. I made a quick decision and acted to turn off the burner.

We were using my axioms for emergency processes.

We observed that the flare-up continued, being oriented that the fire was in the accumulated grease in the trap. My father-in-law suggested that we save the steak, so I decided that he was correct and acted to grab the steak with tongs and place it on a nearby plate.

We observed the fire was still burning. We noted (orientation) that the danger was over, but we needed to put the fire out. Someone, probably me, suggested putting the fire out with water. This sent my daughter into a panic, screaming, “NO!”. We decided to agree with her and looked for other solutions.

My wife suggested baking soda. We decided to try that. She acted to grab the baking soda and we put it on the grease fire. [Daughter still screaming, “Don’t put water on it.”]

Fire out.

Note that we observed the situation, maintained control and did not panic (most of us), analyzed the situation (oriented the situation and discussed alternatives), and took the proper action. Note that the leader, me, took action after consulting the rest of the team.