How this Fighter Pilot Changed the Leadership Paradigm
The vast topic of leadership ranges in different styles, situations, and environments. Whether our leadership comes from doing the right thing or being influential, we should seek subtle examples of leader figures from history and see if we can emulate them to make an impact.
In today’s world, leaders have much to think about and often no time to reflect on how we lead. Moreover, when we observe leadership in organizations, there are many paradigms of leadership; one being conscious leadership. When it comes to conscious leadership, we often figure out how to lead as we go through reflecting on our own upbringings, cultural heritage, religion, and other perceptions of leadership. As a conscious leader, we need to seek out exemplary figures of leadership, oftentimes stemming from military history. One such figure is John Boyd.
John Boyd is the greatest military mind you’ve probably never heard of and may be the most important officer the Air Force ever produced.
In the late 1950s, Boyd was known throughout the Air Force as “Forty-Second Boyd” because he had a standing offer to all pilots that if they could defeat him in simulated air-to-air combat in under 40 seconds, he would pay them $40. He never lost.
Moreover, Boyd developed countless theories, calculations, and military briefings that would eventually influence the design of the F-15 and F-16 (two of the Air Force’s highest performing fighter aircraft) and maneuverability warfare that would save countless lives.
With his brazen air combat ability, Boyd was a character that always desired more. He strongly believed in testing the limits of everything from fighter aircraft, his own capabilities, and perhaps most importantly his commanding officers. Being a man of strong morals and principles, Boyd was always known for engaging and challenging those around him because he knew he was right. His strong will helped him get through some of the most severe criticisms and harsh feedback from his boss, military careerists, and other bureaucrats, who predominantly wanted to maintain the status quo in the military hierarchy. Boyd was once quoted saying, “If your boss demands loyalty, give them integrity. But if your boss demands integrity, give them loyalty.”
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Boyd was called up to work at the Pentagon where he further developed Energy-Maneuverability (EM) Theory. The Pentagon was filled with careerist generals who had connections with Congress and the ability to cut deals with defense contractors. Boyd believed that the real threat facing America was not a despotic foreign power or rogue terrorist groups; the real threat is that an officer from the Navy or Army or Marines might cut a deal with Congress that gives his branch of the service more money. This money would be spent on clunky new technology and aircraft, loaded with new weaponry that added weight and diminished any performance.
As a result, during the Vietnam war, Air Force fighters suffered many casualties because fighters were not optimally equipped. Although Boyd faced many obstacles in the Pentagon’s bureaucracy, his research on EM Theory would later be crucial in designing the two of the Air Force’s top performing fighter aircraft; the F-15 and F-16. These would be part of Boyd’s unknown legacy and would improve America’s air supremacy for decades.
So what about John Boyd’s historic military examples tell us about leadership the modern business world today? Specifically, Boyd’s principles in diligence and integrity were the key driving leadership factors that truly affected the change in his quest for evolving the Air Force. From a business management perspective, there are many similarities and takeaways from his leadership style that we should emulate.
Boyd was a driven man who always did his homework. As a leader he understood that he always needed more knowledge under his belt and was guided in his educational quest by one simple principle: he wanted to give pilots a fighter that would outmaneuver any enemy. This is what led to his curiosity and desire to attain further education in physics, mathematics, and later philosophy and historical war tactics.
He was disciplined with his own principles, morals, and education and adopted ideas from brilliant military minds in Sun Tzu, Von Clausewitz, and Napoleon. As a result of this quest for knowledge, Boyd created his own theories, including an important theory of “Destruction and Creation” that would induce out of the box thinking in creativity. As Boyd learned from past military minds, he developed new ideas on how the Marines should implement maneuver warfare.
“You must have inductive thinking,” Boyd once said to the Marines. “There is not just one solution to solve a problem. There are two or three or five ways to solve a problem. Never commit to a single solution.” He taught a new way to think about combat. His new way turned conventional military wisdom on its head. The military believes most of all in hardware. But Boyd said, “People should come first. Then ideas. And then hardware.”
Boyd’s legacy and discipline to his beliefs evolved brutalist military tactics into maneuverability tactics that would save countless American lives. His story is about how the average person can become a great leader by doing the right thing, no matter the repercussions, through principles, discipline, and not backing down. None of these came easy for Boyd, who would often call on his friends for help at 2:00 am, discussing different ideas and theories he had picked up.
One important note about Boyd is that he seldom did things alone. His dedication to his craft drew on many supporters who later became life-long friends. Being Boyd’s friend meant dedicating one’s life to Boyd’s causes. Very few men were ever invited by Boyd to join forces with him. None ever refused. Each sense intuitively that he was being offered a rare gift. Each was to pay a terrible price for his friendship with Boyd. Each would have paid more.
Resources:
Coram, Robert. Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Back Bay Books/Little, Brown, 2004.