Dwight Eisenhower would often quote 19th century Prussian field marshal Helmuth von Moltke the elder by stating, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Von Moltke also wrote, “No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force,” which we have reduced to the axiom, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Eisenhower and von Moltke realized there is no “perfect plan” that will be executed from A to Z without alteration, particularly when in contact with hostile forces. The process of planning was far more critical than any single plan. Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist Col. John Boyd saw the planning process as the O.O.D.A. loop: observe the situation, orient yourself within the situation, decide a course of action, and act. Boyd contended the combatant who can perform this process the fastest will most likely be victorious in battle. In other words, the best planning process provides the best chance of victory over an opponent.
That’s great advice if you are a military commander engaged directly with an enemy or generating air tasking orders from the Combined Air Operations Center. Even while deployed, only a fraction of us are in direct contact with the enemy, and even fewer generate military plans. Most of us come to work each day and perform “our job.” That is, we exercise the skills of our Air Force Specialty Code through a series of specific tasks. We also have additional military requirements for training, readiness, fitness and organizational sustaining activities that are beyond our AFSC, but combined with our primary job, these activities make up the majority of our work time. Do Eisenhower, von Moltke and Boyd have anything to offer for our daily chores? We can start to answer that by asking another question, “Do you have a plan for your daily work?” Another way to look at a plan for daily work is to have “standard work.” Do you have technical orders, Air Force Instructions, checklists, process diagrams, smart books, or other aids that lay out how work is to be performed? Do you know who produced the standard work? If it can be improved, do you know who to contact and how to get it changed? The 86th Maintenance Squadron completed an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century event on performing major aircraft inspection and repair activities known as isochronal inspections. From this event, they created a plan for each hour of the two-week inspection period.
They can tell you exactly what work should be performed between 10 and 11 a.m. Sept. 26. They also know the condition of the aircraft is not likely to be exactly as expected, so they have a process for adjusting the plan based on initial findings. In this case, the “enemy” is the unknown information about the condition of the aircraft. The goal, i.e. winning the battle, is to keep each aircraft on schedule, regardless of the unknown.
If you don’t have a plan or standard work, the AFSO21 eight-step process is a great tool to help solve a problem, make an improvement, or generate a basic plan. It’s been around for a number of years, but I’ve found few Airmen who are truly proficient at it, yet those who are good at it can tackle some impressively large and complex problems. The eight steps are outlined as 1) clarify and validate the problem, 2) break down the problem/identify performance gaps, 3) set improvement targets, 4) determine root cause, 5) develop countermeasures, 6) see countermeasures through, 7) confirm results and process, and 8) standardize successful processes. The AFSO21 playbook directly maps the eight steps to Boyd’s O.O.D.A. loop, but eight steps can be modified to meet the needs and taste of individuals. It is more important to solve the problem at hand than perfectly match the steps from the AFSO21 playbook.
I’ve seen this and modified versions of the method used successfully for making life and career plans. What’s your goal for your next promotion? What will you do to get selected for the prestigious opportunity, school or program? What are your education goals, and are you on track? How can you quit smoking? I’ve personally used an eight-step method to make life-altering choices about diet and exercise in order to stop taking prescription medication. It took 14 months, and the plan was modified several times, but I eventually achieved success. Now my plan is for daily sustainment, but I still have a plan for healthy living.
Any goal you wish to achieve, any problem to be solved, and any process to be improved can benefit from proper eight-step analysis and planning. Effective analysis will lead to answering some very tough questions. What major and minor steps are needed to achieve the goal? How do you know if you are straying from the plan, and what will you do about it? How often should the plan be updated? What are the measures of success? For example, to make staff sergeant the first time (goal), I need to study four hours a week during the next 12 months (plan). Studying four hours a week is easier to manage than saying one needs to study 200 hours this year, and it’s easy to know if you’re achieving the baby steps each week.
The eight-step process is one way to bring the lessons of Eisenhower, von Moltke and Boyd to our daily work and with achieving our life goals. The method is just one of many powerful tools from the AFSO21 tool box. I strongly recommend you get to know and use the eight-step process, as well as other AFSO21 techniques. You will be amazed at how they can help you achieve excellence in things big and small.
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News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany 
Dwight Eisenhower would often quote 19th century Prussian field marshal Helmuth von Moltke the elder by stating, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” Von Moltke also wrote, “No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force,” which we have reduced to the axiom, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Eisenhower and von Moltke realized there is no “perfect plan” that will be executed from A to Z without alteration, particularly when in contact with hostile forces. The process of planning was far more critical than any single plan. Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist Col. John Boyd saw the planning process as the O.O.D.A. loop: observe the situation, orient yourself within the situation, decide a course of action, and act. Boyd contended the combatant who can perform this process the fastest will most likely be victorious in battle. In other words, the best planning process provides the best chance of victory over an opponent.
That’s great advice if you are a military commander engaged directly with an enemy or generating air tasking orders from the Combined Air Operations Center. Even while deployed, only a fraction of us are in direct contact with the enemy, and even fewer generate military plans. Most of us come to work each day and perform “our job.” That is, we exercise the skills of our Air Force Specialty Code through a series of specific tasks. We also have additional military requirements for training, readiness, fitness and organizational sustaining activities that are beyond our AFSC, but combined with our primary job, these activities make up the majority of our work time. Do Eisenhower, von Moltke and Boyd have anything to offer for our daily chores? We can start to answer that by asking another question, “Do you have a plan for your daily work?” Another way to look at a plan for daily work is to have “standard work.” Do you have technical orders, Air Force Instructions, checklists, process diagrams, smart books, or other aids that lay out how work is to be performed? Do you know who produced the standard work? If it can be improved, do you know who to contact and how to get it changed? The 86th Maintenance Squadron completed an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century event on performing major aircraft inspection and repair activities known as isochronal inspections. From this event, they created a plan for each hour of the two-week inspection period.
They can tell you exactly what work should be performed between 10 and 11 a.m. Sept. 26. They also know the condition of the aircraft is not likely to be exactly as expected, so they have a process for adjusting the plan based on initial findings. In this case, the “enemy” is the unknown information about the condition of the aircraft. The goal, i.e. winning the battle, is to keep each aircraft on schedule, regardless of the unknown.
If you don’t have a plan or standard work, the AFSO21 eight-step process is a great tool to help solve a problem, make an improvement, or generate a basic plan. It’s been around for a number of years, but I’ve found few Airmen who are truly proficient at it, yet those who are good at it can tackle some impressively large and complex problems. The eight steps are outlined as 1) clarify and validate the problem, 2) break down the problem/identify performance gaps, 3) set improvement targets, 4) determine root cause, 5) develop countermeasures, 6) see countermeasures through, 7) confirm results and process, and 8) standardize successful processes. The AFSO21 playbook directly maps the eight steps to Boyd’s O.O.D.A. loop, but eight steps can be modified to meet the needs and taste of individuals. It is more important to solve the problem at hand than perfectly match the steps from the AFSO21 playbook.
I’ve seen this and modified versions of the method used successfully for making life and career plans. What’s your goal for your next promotion? What will you do to get selected for the prestigious opportunity, school or program? What are your education goals, and are you on track? How can you quit smoking? I’ve personally used an eight-step method to make life-altering choices about diet and exercise in order to stop taking prescription medication. It took 14 months, and the plan was modified several times, but I eventually achieved success. Now my plan is for daily sustainment, but I still have a plan for healthy living.
Any goal you wish to achieve, any problem to be solved, and any process to be improved can benefit from proper eight-step analysis and planning. Effective analysis will lead to answering some very tough questions. What major and minor steps are needed to achieve the goal? How do you know if you are straying from the plan, and what will you do about it? How often should the plan be updated? What are the measures of success? For example, to make staff sergeant the first time (goal), I need to study four hours a week during the next 12 months (plan). Studying four hours a week is easier to manage than saying one needs to study 200 hours this year, and it’s easy to know if you’re achieving the baby steps each week.
The eight-step process is one way to bring the lessons of Eisenhower, von Moltke and Boyd to our daily work and with achieving our life goals. The method is just one of many powerful tools from the AFSO21 tool box. I strongly recommend you get to know and use the eight-step process, as well as other AFSO21 techniques. You will be amazed at how they can help you achieve excellence in things big and small.