“Orientation is the Schwerpunkt”

Putting this here so I can point to it. Such an impor­tant con­cept that has real­ly changed the way I approach deci­sion mak­ing. I used to oper­ate in some­thing like an observe-decide-act man­ner. But under­stand­ing that you can ori­ent to change your options is cru­cial for the abil­i­ty to win.

Ori­en­ta­tion is the Schw­er­punkt. It shapes the way we inter­act with the envi­ron­ment — hence ori­en­ta­tion shapes the way we observe, the way we decide, the way we act.

Ori­en­ta­tion shapes the char­ac­ter of present obser­va­tion-ori­en­ta­tion-deci­sion-action loops — while these present loops shape the char­ac­ter of future orientation.

—John Boyd, Organ­ic Design for Com­mand and Control