Our daily life is full of decisions, from what to wear to which route to take to who to hire.
Some decisions are quick and easy to make. Some are difficult and stressful.
For stressful decisions, especially when the stakes are high and information is scarce, the United States military developed one of the best decision-making tools.
It is called the OODA Loop, and it has been battle-tested by fighter pilots over the last 40 years.
Here’s how it works.
Observe, Orient, Decide, Act
Developed by Air Force Colonel John Boyd, the OODA Loop was designed to help fighter pilots make rational decisions in high-pressure situations when facing enemy fighters.
It is especially useful in confusing and chaotic situations when time is of the essence and making a rational decision is required.
The OODA Loop has the following parts:
- Observe
- Oriente
- Decide
- Act
Let’s break down each of these parts.
Observe
Step one is to observe your situation. The goal is to build the most accurate and comprehensive picture of what is happening.
This is where you gather information by asking questions:
- What is immediately affecting me?
- What is affecting my environment?
- What else do I need to know?
- What are my obstacles?
The important part of this process is to sift through gathered information, discard the noise, and keep only the relevant pieces.
Orient
Step two is to orient yourself to look at the situation from the right perspective. This could be a confusing step since, in most cases, you will not be physically orienting yourself.
The orientation happens through:
- Removal of cognitive biases
- Acknowledge cultural influences
- Take into account genetic constraints
It may be tempting to skip this step. Do not. This is crucial to ensure you have the right mindset before deciding.
Decide
Step three is to make a decision. The previous two steps have provided groundwork. Now, it is time to decide.
If multiple options are available, use the information you gathered and your orientation to make the best decision possible.
Make the decision.
Act
Step three is to take action. This might seem straightforward, but taking action is not a sign of success. By taking action, you are testing your decision. The result will show if you’ve made the correct one.
The result leads us to the last part of the OODA Loop - the Loop.
Loop
The Loop means that after you’ve taken the action, your job is not to repeat the four steps.
You now must:
- Observe the result
- Orient yourself by removing biases
- Decide whether you’re moving in the right direction
- Act to correct or continue with your original decision
And on it goes until you finally reach the desired result.
Today’s Action Steps
OODA Loop is a powerful decision-making model. You can use it for trivial decisions like deciding what to wear or during high-pressure situations like deal negotiations.
For example, if you need to fix something in the house:
- Observe the broken piece
- Orient yourself by acknowledging if you have the skills to fix it yourself
- Decide whether to do it yourself or call someone
- Act - fix yourself or call for help
Put it into a loop until you’ve fixed the broken piece.
Outro
If you often face high-stakes decisions under stress, make OODA Loop your best friend. It helps make more accurate decisions faster, especially in uncertain situations.
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And that’s all for this week.
See you next Monday.
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