Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day is about freedom and freedom is what we work  hard to uphold in performing our duties. Always remember and never lose sight of that.  Enjoy the holiday with your families and if your working out on the streets….BE SAFE!

Benefits of Conditioning Our Decision Making...The Boyd Cycle

Boyd Cycle reinforces individual and where cohesion exists, group or organizational  knowledge allowing us to take appropriate actions on the street.  Through observation-orientation-decision and action cycles we continually learn, unlearn and relearn on the fly allowing us to better understand the environment, and the climate of the situation.  This allows us to adapt and choose the right methods to respond with and the how and why behind the actions we take. The Boyd Cycle enhances the strategic and tactical mindset over the emotional reactive mindset.  Continue reading

Superior Situational Awareness and Decision Making...Attributes And Skills of Full Spectrum Officers

Conflicts are time Competitive Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action cycles! “~John Boyd

The essence of conflict as described in the Marine Corps Warfighting Manual is a struggle between two hostile, independent, and irreconcilable wills, trying to impose itself on the other. Conflict is fundamentally an interactive social process.

Conflict is thus a process of continuous mutual adaptation, of give and take, move and counter move. It is critical to keep in mind that the adversary is not an inanimate object to be acted upon but an independent and animate force with its own objectives and plans.

While we try to impose our will on the adversary, he resists us and seeks to impose his own will on us. Appreciating this dynamic interplay between opposing human wills is essential to understanding the fundamental nature of conflict.

John Boyd provided us with a methodology known as the Boyd Cycle. A decision making cycle or a cycle of continuous learning through observation, orientation decision and actions. The Boyd Cycle when conditioned to an effective level gives us  superior situational awareness and hence the ability to manage problems using our insight, imagination, innovation and initiative.

Here is a simple break down of the Cycle. read it and then condition it.

Continue reading

Earning "The Right to Lead" With Character and Courage

I have been thinking a lot about leadership and what it means. In my view its about inspiring others to work toward a common goal. That goal of policing in my view is simply helping others. Protecting and serving those we have sworn to.

As cops this can at times seem very difficult. Difficult because somehow through all the good we in law enforcement and security do, those we help get lost in the negative side of law enforcements job. We get lost in the negative side of the job. We do much more than arrest bad guys and tell people what to do. We do much more than use force and enforce the laws to accomplish our protect and serve mission.

We do, save lives, deliver babies, solve family problems, neighborhood problems, render first aid, give advise, council kids and grownups and stop most bad things from happening to others through the work we do. Its a leaders job to keep that message alive and well throughout the ranks.

John Maxwell's new book “The Right To Lead: Learning Leadership Through Character and Courage is a short read with a powerful message. A message that often times gets lost in the tough things we have to do and how those tough things are reported.

In the preface of the book John asks the question, What gives a man or woman the right to lead?

It certainly isn’t gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank, or degrees doesn’t qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn’t come automatically from age or experience, either.

No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be give the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned. and that takes time.

Continue reading

Stay Oriented!

Fred