Looping Your Way to Success

Introduction 

This weekend, I was reading up on decision frameworks and came across the OODA loop. Finding it interesting, I mentally applied it to past projects, reflecting on how it could have helped some of them. It's always interesting to revisit past experiences with new knowledge. 

I've had my share of successes and failures in various projects, working for over three decades in the software industry.  One particularly memorable adventure was building a low-code/no-code platform.  While the experience itself was invaluable, the project ultimately failed.  It primarily attracted users with coding experience while neglecting those without such backgrounds.  Looking back, there were ample opportunities to reassess and adapt, but unfortunately, we didn't seize them, as the team was focused on keeping the VP happy. 

Feeling restless with my career trajectory, I joined a Fitness platform company, the darling of the stay-at-home era.  It was a perfect timing match, as I joined at a crucial juncture when they needed to rapidly scale to accommodate their skyrocketing customer base.  However, the company's initial spark has since faded, and they are currently undergoing a strategic shift to identify and establish a long-term position in the market.

These experiences raise a crucial question: What strategic decision-making process can businesses and teams adopt to continuously assess and respond to their environment, thereby enhancing their chances of success?  

While there are many answers to this question, I will share one in this post: OODA Loop.

OODA - What?

The OODA Loop, short for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, is a decision-making model developed by military strategist John Boyd. Initially presented in his work "The Essence of Winning and Losing," it focuses on rapid action and adaptation.

By cycling quickly through observing their environment, interpreting it, making decisions, and taking action, individuals and teams (like pilots in aerial combat) can gain an advantage over slower-reacting opponents. Though derived from military applications, this framework holds relevance for individuals and businesses. Interestingly, it also shares similar principles with Machine Learning and AI processes.

OODA - Inside the Loop

The OODA Loop is meant to be a continuous process where the steps are cycled through rapidly to allow for quick reactions and adaptations to changing situations. 

Observe: The first step involves collecting data, and this can be through direct observation, feedback from customers or beta users, data gathering tools, reports, or any other means of understanding the current situation or condition.

Orient: In this phase, we need to interpret the information gathered in the previous step. It involves putting the data into context based on our experiences and prior knowledge. This step shapes how we perceive the situation and influences the next step.

Decide: Time to decide on the best option out of all alternatives evaluated in the previous step. I’ve seen teams fail to act fast, and following this framework will help accelerate this step. 

Act: The final step is to execute the decision made in the previous step. As Boyd put it, “Decisions without actions are pointless. Actions without decisions are reckless.” 

Conclusion

By promoting rapid observation and swift action, the OODA loop empowers businesses, big and small, to adapt to changing markets, make timely decisions, and stay ahead of the curve. It helps create a system where people can easily and quickly communicate to speed up experimentation.

Here are some insights from my past project, looking back through the OODA Loop:

Low-code platform: By observing user data and orienting to their needs, we could have decided on features attracting non-coders and acted earlier to adapt before the project faltered.

Fitness platform: Continuous observation of market trends and proactive strategic decisions based on the orientation towards long-term goals could have helped them navigate challenges and secure their position. Focusing on stability along with scalability will also help. 

This post is just the tip of the iceberg, and I highly recommend browsing through John Boyd’s Wiki page. It has a lot of information with pointers to some of his writings. OODA loop is not just for military strategists anymore but anyone who wants to win at life. So next time life throws you a curveball, remember: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act...Observe, Orient, Decide, Act…