Pilots, Players, Presidents: The OODA Loop Playbook for Peak Performance

Only 100 days until Major League Baseball pitchers report for the 2025 season! Wait, what? The World Series just ended!

This might seem surprising, but in elite-performing organizations, it’s never too early to plan, review, and execute. Whether in baseball, business, or an Air Force squadron, striving for top performance is an unending process. Here’s what high achievers across these fields do between seasons (or in the business world) and how we can take a page from their playbooks, especially with the OODA loop (pronounced oooh, da) as a guiding framework.

Continuous Improvement – Learning from Off-Season Routines

When baseball players head into the off-season, they’re not “off.” They’re reviewing performance data, practicing fundamentals, working out and addressing weaknesses. In the business world, we don’t get the luxury of an “off-season,” but we can adopt the same mindset of continuous improvement. Reviewing our team’s performance, assessing what’s working, and discussing lessons learned is something that elite organizations do on a rolling basis. In the Air Force, after every mission or exercise, there’s an immediate debrief to reflect, assess, and improve for the next mission—a practice businesses can apply.

The OODA Loop: Adapting Quickly in a Constantly Evolving Environment

The OODA loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act—was developed by Air Force Colonel John Boyd to aid fighter pilots in fast-paced decision-making. This process is equally powerful in baseball and business.

1. Observe: In baseball, players review performance data and scouting reports. In business, leaders observe key metrics, market shifts, and feedback. Like a pitcher analyzing batter statistics, business leaders must stay attuned to patterns and trends to make informed decisions.
2. Orient: Elite organizations orient themselves by aligning with overarching goals. For example, a baseball team might tweak its lineup based on new strategies. Similarly, companies need to orient their plans, aligning resources and team focus based on current conditions.
3. Decide: Elite performers are decisive. In baseball, this might mean deciding to adjust training based on weak areas or bringing in new talent. In business, it could mean pivoting on a product line or implementing a new process to increase efficiency.
4. Act: Finally, they act swiftly and effectively. Baseball players train hard to put their strategies into action during the next season. In business, leaders follow through on their decisions to create measurable improvements. Execution in elite organizations requires the courage to act even without certainty of the outcome, just as a pilot or athlete must trust their training. Acting is the most important step in the process because how else will you learn what works and what doesn't. Thomas Edison never looked at the 10,000 tries to make the first light bulb as failures, rather they were 10,000 ways that didn't work until the 10,001st time which did.

The Never-Ending Season of Elite Performance

Unlike Major League Baseball, which has a clearly defined off-season, most businesses operate year-round. They must reduce waste, streamline processes, and find talent continuously. When we don’t have the luxury of a “break,” we must adopt the OODA loop as an ongoing process. By constantly observing and orienting to new data and trends, we remain agile, making better decisions that keep us ahead of the curve.

Bringing it Home: Making Every Day Count

As we head into 2025, let’s embrace a year-round elite mindset. Like baseball teams getting ready for the next season just days after the World Series, or Air Force squadrons analyzing each mission immediately after landing, we can make continuous improvement part of our organizational DNA.

Whether you’re preparing for your own “opening day” in business or optimizing day-to-day operations, integrating principles from the OODA loop will make your organization sharper, more resilient, and better equipped to inspire elite performance in every situation.

Ready to start thinking like an elite organization? Subscribe for more insights on how you can keep your team at the top of their game year-round.

Dennis Mellen, Full Throttle Leadership

Speaker, author, coach!