What Does "OODA" Mean Anyway?

Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

That’s what OODA stands for. It’s a term coined by Colonel John R. Boyd (January 23, 1927 — March 9, 1997; pictured right), a United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strate­gist, whose theories have influ­enced both military and business strategies.

He used the term “OODA Loop” to describe the process that individ­u­als and organi­za­tions use to react to events. The key to success is the creation of situa­tions where one can make appro­pri­ate decisions more rapidly than others.
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Everybody Needs a Tap Code

This week, PBS aired a phenom­e­nal series on human emotion and social inter­ac­tion called “This Emotional Life.” I was partic­u­larly struck by a segment on human resilience in which a Vietnam veteran — Bob Shumaker, a POW for 8 years — shared his amazing story.

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Comments Due on Private Sector Preparedness Standards

The Department of Homeland Security is solic­it­ing comments — by January 15 — on their proposed standards for the new Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). Recommended by the 9/11 commis­sion, PS-Prep was devel­oped for private entities to receive certi­fi­ca­tion for emergency prepared­ness from DHS.

“Preparedness is a shared respon­si­bil­ity and everyone—including businesses, univer­si­ties and non-profit organizations—has a role to play,” said Napolitano when announc­ing the proposed standards in October. “Ensuring our private sector partners have the infor­ma­tion and train­ing they need to respond to disas­ters will strengthen our efforts to build a culture of prepared­ness nationwide.”

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