One criticism of the OODA Loop is that it’s obvious and instinctive. At face value, it’s the process you follow when you find yourself hungry and make yourself a sandwich or even go to the toilet at night. Indeed this article, in part a rant against the overuse of OODA Loop language in the military, the author notes: “Describing decision making by prattling on about the OODA Loop is like saying things fall because of gravity. That’s true, as far as it goes, but knowing that doesn’t mean you understand physics. Almost everyone who talks about getting inside someone’s “loop” is just using the term to mean you need to make decisions faster than the other guy. If you can make decisions faster, you’ll have a better chance of winning. No shit, Sherlock.”

Point taken, however, we would argue this is also the power of the OODA Loop. It’s not meant to be something we impose on ourselves, rather something that we do that we can do more consciously, efficiently, and rapidly — which gives us an edge.

An additional criticism associated with OODA arises when it’s presented as a simple loop — a linear process that must be worked through as stages in a process. That loses the point of OODA as a dynamic framework that’s applied in a non-linear way. Indeed, the more complex diagram below was introduced by Boyd and others to help address this challenge. 

This clarification has still led to alternative models with a more explicit approach being put forward, some of which are outlined at length in this academic paper. 

The Gunman in the coffee shop. 

We cite this excellent article on the OODA Loop in the Art of Manliness in our Origins and Resources tab. Here’s an example the author describes in his meeting with Curtis Sprague, former US Air Marshall and instructor. 

“To show the vital importance of controlling the tempo of your OODA Loop when it clashes with another’s, Curtis pointed to the door of the coffee shop at which we were meeting, and asked me, “What would you do if a guy with a gun came in through that door?”

Me: “Uhhh . . . ”

“You’re dead. You got stuck in the orientation step. You need to have a plan that you know is good enough to work in that situation and implement it immediately. Remember, you have to finish your Loop before the bad guy finishes his.”

So what’s the best mental model in that situation? According to Curtis, as well as research on past active shootings, the best response isn’t to flee or hide from the gunman, but rather to immediately close the gap between you and him and incapacitate him. In fact, this is what Homeland Security recommends when the shooter is relatively close to you.

Why does this work? When you immediately go after the shooter, you’re messing up his plan and his orientation of the world. You’re getting inside his OODA Loop, or as Curtis says, you’re “resetting it.”

The OODA Loop was developed in the 1950s by John Boyd, fighter pilot and military strategist. By all accounts, John Boyd was not a pleasant person. He effectively ignored his family, was considered rude, arrogant, and lived a spartan lifestyle. But being nice, generous or liked did not seem to be the point of Boyd’s life.

A workaholic, Boyd seemed obsessed with improving the art of warfare and doing his job to incredibly high standards. In that sense, judged by his own standards, he succeeded. 

As a fighter pilot, Boyd developed the nickname ‘Forty-Second Boyd’ for his ability to win against any opponent in less than 40 seconds from any position of disadvantage. One of Boyd’s main theses was the need to win wars and battles by being able to adapt and make fast decisions under pressure. He combined this high performance and action-focused with deep research and thought.

The OODA Loop came from Boyd’s view that any intelligent organism engaged with its environment through a continuous cycle of understanding and action. Interestingly, much of what Boyd worked out in relation to the approach had to come through records of his presentations and even notes in other people's books, as he rarely methodically documented his own work.

If you want to dig deeper, one of the best resources we found on the OODA Loop was this article in the Art of Manliness.

In terms of combining OODA Loop with the Cynefin Framework, definitely explore David Snowden’s views on how Cynefin and OODA play together via his Cognitive Edge blog post here. He makes the point that multiple and rapid cycles of the OODA Loop in the Complex domain will generate greater observations to work through multiple hypotheses — but again, read Snowden's article for more.