Commander's Intent is a military planning mental model that communicates the desired end-state of a mission so clearly that subordinates can make correct decisions without further orders — even when the original plan has broken down. Developed formally in the US Army in the 1980s, it solves the pervasive organizational problem of compliance versus initiative: teams that execute orders literally but miss the point when conditions change.
The OODA Loop is a decision-making framework developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd that describes the cognitive cycle of effective action under uncertainty and competition: Observe (gather information), Orient (synthesize and interpret), Decide (choose a course of action), and Act (execute). Boyd's insight was that the speed of cycling through this loop — not raw capability — determines competitive advantage. The competitor who completes OODA cycles faster can act inside the opponent's decision cycle, creating confusion and overwhelming adaptive capacity.