What does the logo mean?


You may wonder if the logo on my web site and on my articles at Scribd carries some meaning beyond "my sister got all the art genes" or "to cheap to hire a logo designer".

It does.

The image symbolizes interacting systems. I sometimes label the nodes (the orange balls):


  • We
  • Customers
  • Allies
  • Competitors
  • Environment (Society and resources)
Thus, the image can be viewed as a map of the strategic landscape business organizations must deal with. This map reminds me that there is a world full of possibilities. There are often many routes to any given objective.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that the logo resembles part of this diagram:

This is John Boyd's decision loop model, the OODA loop. The focus point of the OODA loop is the Orientation phase, where we interpret the data we observe and try to make sense of it. In the OODA loop model, there are five factors that influence how we orient ourselves:

  • Genetic heritage
  • Cultural traditions
  • Analysis & synthesis
  • Previous experience
  • New information
These five factors interact, not just to shape our decisions, but also to influence, shape, and reshape, each other.

The OODA model is equally applicable to individual and group decision making. It has been used when training fighter pilots, and when creating business strategy.

So, the logo has multiple meanings to me. The theme is interaction, but what the interacting subsystems are, varies depending on the interpretation of the logo. Both viewpoints are equally valid, and there may be other, equally valid, points of view that just haven't been discovered yet.

This leads to the idea of paradigm transcendence, the ability to choose between co-existing thought models, which is fundamental to Boyd's orientation concept. Thus, the logo does take on a third meaning, symbolizing the most powerful concept known to mankind.

Consciously shifting paradigms requires a great deal of self-awareness. I recently expressed my vision of a world of self-aware people as:
A world where everyone can achieve their full potential
That is pretty much it, except for one thing:

What's with the color?

I chose orange for a reason. Maybe I'll write about it some other time.

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