John Boyd forever changed the way the United States fights wars, both on the ground and in the air. This is rather impressive considering his own limited battlefield experience, as he just missed World War II and barely caught the end of the Korean War.

Just read this piece this morning by Grant Martin, Of Garbage Cans and Paradox: Reflexively Reviewing Design, Mission Command, and the Gray Zone. What a great analysis on how bureaucracies, work and how to overcome or better yet, how to use them in technical or linear problems and learn how to adapt problem solving methods in the gray zon

When teaching, writing about and discussing adaptive leadership, the critical questions that often ariseare, what type of organization operates at rapid OODA Loop tempos and how do we implement it? How are we suppose to size up situations, focus our efforts, so they are safe and effective with mission type orders and mutual trust? How do we develop an organizational climate for operational success?

The late Col. John Boyd was constantly admonishing leaders in the United States to remember that in the field of human competition the three most important determinants of success are People, Ideas and Things – in that order. Identifying and developing good decision makers is the first obligation of any organization – without those decision makers the best ideas will not emerge and cannot succeed. Organizations are already full of potentially brilliant leaders who just need to be unleashed on the problems and opportunities crisis or conflicts are made of.