A lesson in strategy from the pilot who never lost a dogfight.
Curio #38
Morning!
As the legend goes John Boyd never lost a single dogfight. Pretty badass, right?
American pilots flew the F-86 Sabres during the Korean War against Russians who flew the superior Mig-15 for North Korea.
Mig-15 jets were more agile, had a higher climb rate, higher max altitude, and superior firepower, still, American pilots managed to gain air superiority.
Boyd says their success is down to two things:
The F-86 Sabre had a canopy that offered better visibility, and
American pilots were trained to be quick, flexible, and very aggressive.
Today we know his insight as the ‘Boyd loop’.
It’s a four-step process:
Observation,
Orientation,
Decision, and
Action.
The ‘Boyd Loop’ is based on the insight that being quick, aggressive, and decisive are the keys to winning in a highly competitive situation.
That’s how Nvidia beat Intel to the punch by bringing a new chip to the market in just 6 – 12 weeks, while it took Intel 18 – 24 months.
I learnt about Boyd’s insight from Richard Rumelt’s book ‘The Crux’, where he explains that in highly competitive situations, it’s sometimes more important to have your opponent believe that you’re in the lead than actually being in the lead.
When the situation calls for it, be quick, aggressive, and decisive.
Have the best week!
Aliyar