To Be or To Do

A talented man

John Richard Boyd was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Airforce.  He served in World War Two, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

He was a more than capable pilot.  He attended the most prestigious fighter pilot school in the U.S.  He graduated top of his class and was asked to stay on as an instructor.

Boyd earned the nickname “Forty Second Boyd” because he had a standing bet with his students. He routinely beat every other pilot in air combat manoeuvring, even when starting from a disadvantageous position, in less than forty seconds.

An influential man

Boyd was a graduate in economics and industrial engineering.  Working with Thomas Christie, a civilian mathematician, he developed the Energy-Maneuverability theory.  During the Vietnam war the Pentagon called him back from active service. His thinking was incorporated into the design of the F-15 Eagle.  Many believe his advice stopped the project from becoming a costly failure.

Boyd went on to become a military strategist.  He devised the OODA loop (Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act). The simple premise was that the person who runs through the decision-making process fastest gains the upper hand in battle.  His opponent is always on the back foot responding to situations that have already changed.  The logic was later applied to other competitive environments including business, politics and sport.

In 1990 at the age of 63 Boyd was finally called back to the Pentagon by the Secretary of Defence, Dick Cheney.  He is credited with developing the strategy for the invasion of Iraq “Operation Desert Storm”.

The Iraqi army collapsed morally and intellectually under the onslaught of American and Coalition forces. John Boyd was an architect of that victory as surely as if he’d commanded a fighter wing or a manoeuvre division in the desert. ~ General Charles C. Krulak

By any measure Boyd was one of the most influential men in the US airforce

An unsuccessful man

Despite all this John Boyd never amounted to much.  By the time he retired he had reached the rank of Colonel.  To the uninitiated that sounds impressive, but the next rank is a Brigadier General, then a Major General, then a Lieutenant General and finally a General. Boyd was, to be brutal, a senior middle manager.

An unpopular man

Boyd was not known for complying with authority.

In his biography “The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War” Robert Coram claims that Boyd rarely met a general that he didn’t offend.  He was loud, abrasive and stubborn.  He took delight in pointing out the holes in his superior’s arguments.  On one notable occasion he burnt a hole in a general’s tie whilst prodding him with a lit cigar during an argument. Boyd wouldn’t back down.  He would always challenge the status quo.

You gotta challenge all assumptions. If you don’t, what is doctrine on day one becomes dogma forever after. ~ Colonel John Boyd

As well as “Forty Second Boyd” John Boyd also earned the nicknames “The Mad Major” and “Genghis John”.

His superiors either loved him or loathed him.  Some thought that he was the most talented soldier they had ever known.  Others criticised his lack of manners and disregard of authority.  The latter group sabotaged his career.  Boyd was routinely beaten to promotions by people that he regarded as “compliant pen pushers”.

A perceptive man

Boyd’s biographer Robert Coram repeats the pep talk that Boyd gave to a junior officer when asked for career advice.

Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road and you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go.

If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments.

Or you can go that way and you can do something — something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get the good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference.

To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make a decision.  ~ Colonel John Boyd

What sort of man are you?

To be or to do? Which way will you turn?

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