UBA101 - Running the OODA Loop
Clarity in Chaos.
Another unexpected podcast sets something off in my brain. Ideas take shape in the gaps, between client calls, late-night thinking, and long walks. From leading creative teams to mentoring new talent. From managing brand shifts to keeping my own restless mind busy. That’s where this started.
The OODA Loop is a decision cycle developed by military strategist John Boyd. Observe-Orient-Decide-Act. Originally created for fighter pilots making split-second combat decisions. Now a powerful framework for navigating cultural complexity. It is not just about speed, but about processing information more effectively than your competition.
The world isn't accelerating, it's fracturing, becoming less predictable by the day. Your competitive edge? It’s not speed but clarity.
The clearest minds run the tightest loops.
OODA = Observe → Orient → Decide → Act
This isn't another productivity framework gathering dust in your digital notebook. Think of it as an operating system for cultural navigation, while everyone else chases virality, the true cultural architects are running tighter cognitive loops. Seeing better. Processing faster. Acting with precision.
Signal Detection
We've moved beyond trend reports and aesthetic forecasting. Relevance isn't static. It's perpetually in motion. The audience isn't chasing spectacle anymore. They hunger for substance. Ethics. Intention. Sustainability. Creativity. These aren't differentiators now. They form the baseline. The minimum viable cultural product.
Hype has lost its gravitational pull. The collective consciousness has evolved. People ask deeper questions. Your responsibility? Develop superior listening capabilities.
This is precisely where neurodivergent thinking creates advantage. Those with dyslexia, ADHD, and other cognitive differences often possess extraordinary pattern recognition across seemingly disconnected realms. Natural systems thinkers in a landscape of specialists. When conventional minds follow prescribed pathways, the neurodivergent consciousness detects cultural undercurrents that others simply miss.
Cultural Orientation
Luxury has transformed entirely - no longer defined by exclusivity, now built on alignment. With values, with aesthetics, with intentionality. Post-pandemic existence reshaped our sensibilities. It made us simultaneously nostalgic and strangely hopeful, craving meaning wrapped in familiar textures: Needlepoint cushions, sun-bleached fabrics, beach-inspired jewellery, aperol-coloured everything.
But chasing aesthetic trends isn't cultural fluency. True orientation requires understanding your specific position within the cultural landscape. Knowing not just what you stand for. But why you belong in this particular moment.
Decision Architecture
Strategic planning now transcends traditional frameworks. Its less about rigid roadmaps, more about cultural models and scenario building.
Who occupies your creative focus? The dreamers experimenting with aesthetic languages? Or the activists reconstructing systems? One navigates the vibe shift. The other rewrites fundamental rules. Miscalculate this positioning and risk immediate irrelevance.
Effective decisions emerge from pattern recognition rather than reactivity. The multidimensional thinking intrinsic to neurodivergent minds becomes invaluable here. Seeing possibilities within apparent constraints. Making unexpected connections that catalyse breakthrough strategies.
Decisive Movement
The OODA loop's true power lies in rewarding decisive clarity over perpetual motion.
Consider how mega-brands struggle with this very concept. Iconic brands once were disruptors, now they’re the disrupted. Watching as newer brands like On, Allbirds and Gymshark eat into their market share. Not because these challengers have bigger budgets or better athletes. Because they run tighter loops. They observe customer pain points more acutely. Orient toward sustainability and community more authentically. Decide on product innovations more rapidly. Act with more cultural precision.
This mirrors what I explored in UBA085 - The 1970s Brand Revolution. How cultural shifts created openings for nimble entrepreneurs. Now we're witnessing similar seismic changes. But the tempo has accelerated exponentially.
Twelve-month plans feel increasingly antiquated. What matters now is real-time relevance. Activating rather than announcing. Collaborating instead of broadcasting. Shipping cultural contributions rather than mere campaigns.
In an environment saturated with noise, clear action communicates unmistakably. The winners aren't the loudest voices. They're the most attuned to cultural frequencies.
The cultural landscape resembles a contested territory. Your cognitive loop functions as your primary instrument. Refine it. Deploy it. Iterate continuously.
Because ultimate victory goes to the clearest thinkers. And frequently, the clearest insights emerge from minds that process differently. Not despite their neurological variations. Precisely because of them.
Written By Mark
