The OODA Loop: A Tool for Better Decision-Making
How to Hone Your Mental Engines to Make Better Decisions
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
- Confucius
Preparation is key for doing well at whatever it is you’re trying to do. It’s why athletes practice, actors rehearse, and writers read. The reason preparation is so critical is that it conditions your mind and body to perform in situations where others are not so conditioned. But the real power in preparation lies in how preparation makes you more likely to perform well.
Preparation makes us perform better by shortening the time it takes for us to go through a process that we automatically go through anyway: the OODA loop. The OODA loop is a four-step process that frames the actions we take every day:
- Observe
- Orient
- Decide
- Act
Preparation takes the form of going through the first 3 parts of the loop, so that when it comes time to act, you are more likely to do the right thing, and do it well.
