[akrumel]

Boyd describes the OODA loop as an analogue process, not digital. A person or organization continually orients, observes, decides, and acts. This is different than Deming's PDCA cycle which is a serial process. Speeding up the OODA loop requires the 'right' culture for the objectives, openness to new information, distributed decision making, common understanding of mission and priorities (Boyd calls this schwerpunkt),... In military terms, the goal is to disorient the enemy and thus disrupt their OODA loop while being able to function effectively in a confusing environment.

From experience, this is critical in a military setting. I find this theory difficult to employ in the technology/startup arena in most cases. That said, the elements which make for an effective and efficient OODA loop are invaluable when building an effective organization. In my experience, many companies miss opportunities because insightful information (observe) often comes into the organization from unexpected sources and does not get properly taken into account (orient); employees have not uniformly internalized the organizations priorities (decision); and decision making cannot be effectively distributed (action).