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The OODA Loop is an analytical decision-making tool. It’s an acronym that stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This four-step process was developed by Colonel John Boyd, a fighter pilot in the 1950s. Colonel Boyd recognized that if he was going to outperform the enemy who had better fighter jets, he had to improve his decision-making process. And he called that process the OODA Loop.
This course explains that this process isn’t just four steps, and it’s not sequential. It’s a loop, and as you’re moving from step to step, you’re feeding information back to the beginning in a constant cycle. While this loop is occurring, you’re constantly gathering information, making decisions, taking actions, and evaluating and adjusting those actions with the end goal of constantly improving your advantage and getting better over time. The OODA Loop is a tool for taking ownership of your environment. As a leader, you need to make decisions, and you need to take action.
Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, Dichotomy of Leadership, host of the top-rated Jocko Podcast, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer, leadership instructor, speaker and strategic advisor. Jocko spent 20 years in the SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer. As commander of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser during the battle of Ramadi, he orchestrated SEAL operations that helped the “Ready First” Brigade of the U.S. Army’s First Armored Division bring stability to the violent, war-torn city. Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly decorated Special Operations Unit of the Iraq War.
Jocko Willink returned from Iraq to serve as Officer-in-Charge of training for all West Coast SEAL Teams. There, he spearheaded the development of leadership training and personally instructed and mentored the next generation of SEAL leaders who have continued to perform with great success on the battlefield. Jocko Willink is the recipient of the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and numerous other personal and unit awards.
Upon retiring from the Navy, Jocko Willink co-founded Echelon Front, a premier leadership consulting company, where he teaches the leadership principles he learned on the battlefield to help others lead and win. Jocko also authored the Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual, a New York Times Bestseller, and the best selling Way of the Warrior Kid children’s book series.
Dave Berke is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, ground combat leader, and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Officer of Development and Curriculum. As a F/A-18 pilot, he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN where he served as the Training Officer, the senior staff pilot responsible for the conduct of the TOPGUN course.
He then served as an ANGLICO Forward Air Controller supporting the Army’s 1st Armored Division during extensive urban combat operations on the ground in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. Dave led his supporting arms liaison team on scores of combat missions into the most dangerous neighborhoods and accompanied SEAL Task Unit Bruiser on virtually every major operation in the Battle of Ramadi. He was the only Marine selected to fly the F-22 Raptor having served as an exchange officer at the Air Force’s 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron as the Division Commander. He became the first operational pilot ever to fly and be qualified in the F-35B, serving as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron from 2012-2014.
Upon his retirement from the Marine Corps, Dave joined Echelon Front providing unmatched experience and a unique perspective on combat leadership, analytical decision making, risk mitigation, and creating winning teams. He serves as Echelon Front’s Chief Officer of Development and Curriculum, as well as a leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor.