Ok, Boyd is really the most intriguing strategic thinker I've ever come across.
I'm not sure I can finish this week's post in time; there's too much to synthesise.
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Or rather, there is relatively little to synthesise, but what exists is so profound that it’s difficult to wrap your head around all the implications.
As a taster: Boyd assumes specific strategies are not worth discussing, because discussion makes the strat unviable.
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It’s a bit like the common (Singaporean) criticism of the Thucydides Trap: “knowledge that the trap exists implies that the parties involved will not fall into the trap”
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And so if you are to construct a general strategic framework but you are not allowed to discuss a specific strategic approach, what are you left with?
You are left with a way of thinking about the world.
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(Yes, all blog posts that focus on the OODA loop miss the point. As a description of decision making processes, there are far better models out there.)
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Highly recommend Osinga's excellent treatment of Boyd:
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I just finished it! I thought Chet Richard’s treatment was bad; Competing Against Time was useful but presented only one applied strategy (albeit an exhaustive one). Coram and Hamming’s bios were good, but narrative. Osinga really does the best job.
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Mostly agree. I appreciate Chet trying to apply to business. A lot more that could be done there but directionally good I thought.
Coram is usually what I recommend to People to get them hooked then graduate to Osinga if they are into it.
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Look forward to the post!
I did a write up a few years ago that is mostly a summary of Osinga: taylorpearson.me/ooda-loop/#Goi
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