Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization · Ludendorff, J.F.C. Fuller, T.E. Lawrence, B.L. Hart,...

1 © 2012TOCICO. All rights reserved.

TOCICO 2012 Conference

Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization

Presented By: Ken Francis; [email protected]

Date: 6 June, 2012

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© 2012 TOCICO. All rights reserved.


Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization Agenda

• Col John Boyd, USAF

−1927-1997

• Organizational Agility

• Agile Organization Examples

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Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization Col. John Boyd, USAF

• Quintessential organizational maverick

(with a fighter pilot’s attitude)

• Thinking by analogy

−Combining unrelated pieces of information from very

different disciplines into a new world view

Synthesis then Analysis

• What can we do with snow skies, an outboard motor boat, a

bicycle, and children's toys with a rubber Caterpillar tread?

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• Quintessential organizational maverick

(with a fighter pilot’s attitude)

• Thinking by analogy

−Combining unrelated pieces of information from very

different disciplines into a new world view

Synthesis then Analysis

• What can we do with snow skies, an outboard motor boat, a

bicycle, and children’s toys with a rubber Caterpillar tread?

SNOWMOBILE

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• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – thermal energy will migrate from

a higher state to a lower state and in a closed system the energy

level will always decrease

• A closed, inwardly focused system loses energy

−A robust, open system will continuously gain energy through

interfacing with its environment

−Analyze: nations, societies, cultures, economic systems,

organizations

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• “People, Ideas, Hardware….In that Order!”

• “Warfare: Moral, Mental, Physical”

• “Machines don’t fight wars, terrain doesn’t fight wars, humans fight wars and they use their minds. You must get into the minds of humans. That’s where battles are won.”

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The Goal

• What is the aim or purpose of strategy? To improve our ability to

shape and adapt to unfolding circumstances, so that we (as

individuals or as groups or as a culture or as a nation-state) can

survive on our own terms. —John R. Boyd

• Survival and the ability to prosper on terms of our own choosing.

• Strategy is the mode of survival of a society. – Henry Kissinger

• We are survival machines. – Richard Dawkins

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• Biography

−1953: Korean War; F-86 pilot

−10/1 F-86 vs. MIG-15; better visibility and full hydraulic

controls yielded the concept of “Fast Transients”

−Mid 1950’s: USAF Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, NV

−“40 Second Boyd”

−Aerial Attack Study

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• Biography

−1960: Georgia Tech Engineering Degree

−Specific Excess Power (Ps)/ Energy Maneuverability (E-M)

−1963: Eglin AFB, FL (“The Mad Major”)

−Refined E-M/Ps with Tom Christie

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• Biography

−1966: Pentagon (“Genghis John”)

−Redesign the FX (F-15)

−First aircraft designed using E-M

−“Fighter Mafia” and the development of the Light Weight

Fighter (LWF)

−1975: YF-16 wins the LWF flyoff

−Buttonhook Turn

−1975: Retires from USAF

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• F-15A and YF-16

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• YF-16 Turning Inside of an F-4

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• Biography

−1975 – 1997 Scholar (“Ghetto Colonel”)

−Study Warfare and Strategy from present to Sun Tzu and

how we perceive, interact with, and adapt to reality

−Sun Tzu, Genghis Kahn, Napoleon, Jomini, von

Clausewitz, Jackson, Lee, Grant, von Schlieffen, von

Ludendorff, J.F.C. Fuller, T.E. Lawrence, B.L. Hart,

Guderian, Balk, Rommel, Marx, Vo Nguyen Giap

−Hard Sciences, “New” Science, and Social Sciences

−Boyd Cycle (OODA) and Maneuver Warfare (Asymmetry)

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• Biography

• 1975 – 1997 Scholar (“Ghetto Colonel”)

−Military Reform Movement

−Gary Hart, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney

−Maneuver Warfare

−United States Marine Corps

−Desert Storm

−Destruction and Creation

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• Biography

• 1975 – 1997 Scholar (“Ghetto Colonel”)

−A Discourse on Winning and Losing

−Patterns of Conflict

−Strategic Game of ? and ?

−Organic Design for Command and Control

−The Essence of Winning and Losing

−Fast Transients

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• Great Thinker and the Military Strategist of the 20th Century

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Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization Organizational Agility

“I think adapting not just to change, but the speed of change, is

critical.”

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations

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Definition

•The ability to change organizational “vector” quicker than any

competitor

•Organizational “vector” (magnitude and direction)

–Market offerings

–Organization structure

–Innovation

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• An organization that is a “purposeful opportunist”

−Change leader or fastest responder

−Market definer or shaper

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• Boyd cycle: OODA Loop

−Observe

−Orient

−Decide

−Act

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Note how orientation shapes observation, shapes decision, shapes action, and, in turn, is shaped by the feedback and other phenomena coming into our sensing or observation window.

Also note how the entire "loop" (not just orientation) is an ongoing many-sided implicit cross-referencing process of projection, empathy, correlation, and rejection.

Feed Forward

Feed Forward

Unfolding Interaction With

Environment

Feed ForwardObservations

Decision (Hypothesis)

Action

(Test)

Unfolding

Environmental Interaction

Feedback

Feedback

Observation Orientation Decision Action

The OODA " Loop"Sketch

Outside Information

Unfolding

Circumstances

Insights

Implicit

Guidance &

Control

Implicit Guidance &

ControlCultural

Traditions

Genetic

Heritage

New

Information

Previous Experiences

Analyses/

Synthesis

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• Maneuver warfare

−“Boyd cycling” the competition/enemy, being consistently

faster through however many OODA loops it takes until the

competition/enemy loses his cohesion-until he can no longer

compete/fight as an effective, organized entity/force.”

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• Maneuver Warfare

−Decentralized decision making

−Guidance replaces control (TRUST)

−Thriving on chaos

−Comfort in chaos and uncertainty

−A “thinking” organization

− Avoid patterns, recipes, and formulas

−Originality, innovation, breakthroughs

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• The keys to Maneuver Warfare

−Commander’s intent

−Organizational “vector” change

−Decentralized decisions and execution

−The focus of the effort

−Surfaces and gaps

− Focus efforts on opponents weaknesses (gaps) not strengths (surfaces)

−Apply your strength to an opponent’s weakness (Asymmetry)

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• TOC and the Boyd Cycle “Orient”

−Use the TOC thinking processes to continuously analyze and

synthesize

−Quickly identify root causes

−Quickly identify and challenge Erroneous Assumptions

−Quickly develop and implement organizational “vector”

changes

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• TOC and Maneuver Warfare

−TOC enables alignment of local activity with the

organization’s global goal(s)

−Commander’s Intent

−The focus of the effort

−TOC thinking processes enable the organization to quickly

find and exploit gaps

−Surfaces and gaps

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Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization Conclusions

• The concept of “fast Boyd cycles” predates John Boyd

• Individuals and organizations have been using “fast Boyd cycles”

for survival throughout history

• TOC provides a tool set for individuals and organizations to

routinely and consistently execute “fast Boyd cycles”

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Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization Maneuver Warfare Examples

• Wal-Mart Vs. K-Mart

− K-Mart was #1 retailer; Wal-Mart was Arkansas upstart

−Wal-Mart focused on quick, reliable supply chain and its

ability to quickly convert ideas into action

−Wal-Mart is #1 retailer with unique capabilities; not just a

better K-Mart

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• Target Vs. Wal-Mart

−Wal-Mart is low priced leader

−Wal-Mart looks at items as commodities

−Target competes on design

−Misrahi, Jarmon, Mossimo, O’Brien, Graves

−Target provides well designed distinctive items at very

reasonable prices.

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• Apple Computer vs the PC and consumer electronics world

−Most personal computers and consumer electronics poorly

designed with poor user interfaces

−Apple focuses on design that integrates hardware, software,

and packaging that has simple elegance and an intuitive user

interface

−iMac, iPod (iTunes), iPhone, iPad

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Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization References

• Books The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security by Grant T. Hammond Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram Science, Strategy and War by Frans Osinga Maneuver Warfare Handbook by William S. Lind Certain To Win by Chet Richards

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• Web Sites

Air Power Australia

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Boyd-Papers.htm

War, Chaos, and Business

http://www.belisarius.com/

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• Web Sites

Defense and the National Interest

http://dnipogo.org/strategy-and-force-employment/boyd-and-military-

strategy/

• USAF Col John Boyd

http://www.sci.fi/~fta/JohnBoyd.htm

Boyd Cycles, TOC and the Agile Organization · Ludendorff, J.F.C. Fuller, T.E. Lawrence, B.L. Hart,...

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