The Difference Between Winning and Losing

Looks like the OODA loop (or Boyd cycle) is hitting a critical mass...sort of like Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point a few years ago. Or maybe the Boyd cycle has reached a tipping point as a useful metaphor for a good decision making process. I noticed a link to page on OODA loops at from Instapundit today. You can find the link, with a good graphic of the loop itself, here. If Glen Reynolds (Instapundit) links to it, you can be sure it's going to start showing up in a lot of places. In the alternative media/libertarian freelance newsgatherer/subjective opinion maker space....the Instapundit is the King (Drudge is the jester). The quote is taken from Grant Hammond's "The Mind of War," which I have on my recommended reading list at the Insider home page, and which I'm reading now. Despite the title, the book isn't about war so much as it is about John Boyd's contribution to the science of knowing, or epistemology. Boyd simply added the element of time and said that in a competitive environment, from the battlespace to the marketplace, the ability to process new information faster, find what's important, and make a good decision is a key competitive advantage. It is the difference between winning and losing. As Hammond says, "Knowledge of the strategic environment is the first priority. "