War has a way of teaching brutal lessons about having superior situational awareness. The military’s obsession with knowing what’s really happening on the battlefield has spawned some fascinating practices and concepts over the centuries. Take the “Directed Telescope” – a commander’s secret weapon for cutting through the fog of war. Another one is the “OODA Loop” that helps pilots make split-second decisions. Also, there is the German military concept of Fingerspitzengefühl (literally “finger feeling”). This is an uncanny sense some leaders develop for how things are unfolding.
Indeed, these battle techniques aren’t just old military ideas gathering dust in history books. In this article, I’ll show you how business leaders can use these battle-tested methods to see through the fog of today’s digital world.
The Directed Telescope: The Unending Quest For Certainty in the Situation.

Here, the Directed Telescope is where military commanders throughout the ages have made use of specially selected, highly qualified, and trusted officers as special agents or observers. In fact, they used this command and control technique in addition to normal reporting channels. The overarching reason they used this informational gathering and control technique was to increase their certainty of desired outcomes on the battlefield.
One of the best examples of the Directed Telescope was Napoleon. He would use aides outside his normal reporting channels to inform him of significant conditions and to verify his subordinates’ reports. For instance, below is an example of an order he gave to an aide before battle.
Directed Telescope Example: Napoleon Order to Military Aide
“You will first visit the Corps of the Duke of Regis and inform me about his person. You will copy me a picture of his entire Corps. You will report on the state of his infantry, artillery, trains, magazines, and hospitals; also the rumors circulating in and around the corps, in brief anything that might interest me.”
This technique of the Directed Telescope also applies to today’s business. Besides normal reporting systems such as business intelligence (BI) dashboards, leaders need trusted resources to verify and provide certainty about events and outcomes. For instance, corporate leaders can use senior advisors, external coaches, or trusted colleagues throughout the organization to help provide certainty. Also in the near future, executives will make use of autonomous AI software agents or smart robots to provide independent perspectives of business conditions to increase certainty.
For more information on the Directed Telescope, see David Gillespie’s article, What The Military Can Teach Organizations About Agility. Also, see LTC, Gary B. Griffin’s paper, The Directed Telescope: A Traditional Element of Effective Command.
“From Plato to NATO, the history of command in war consists essentially of an endless quest for certainty.”
Martin van Creveld
The OODA Loop: Gaining Situational Awareness Through Observing and Orienting.
The OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Action) Loop is an agile decision-making framework. This strategy was birthed from the crucible of aerial combat and refined by military strategists. Indeed, despite its origins in the military, it offers profound insights and advantages when applied to today’s real-time business environment. In fact, much like aerial combat, today’s businesses operate in an increasingly real-time, volatile, uncertain, and complex environment.
From a situational awareness perspective, the Observe and Orient phases of the OODA framework encompass gathering information, comprehending it, and identifying possible outcomes given the circumstances. Also, the OODA decision-making framework emphasizes adapting to the situation through continuous feedback and learning. Indeed, that is at the heart of situational awareness. For a more detailed discussion of the OODA Loop framework, see Unvarnished Facts’ article, The Forgotten OODA Loop: It’s An Amazing Military Decision Framework And Awesome Gift To Business. Also, see Global Guardian’s article, Situational Awareness at Work: Why It Matters and How to Improve It.
The Fingerspitzengefühl Way: The Intuitive Situational Awareness of Experienced Leaders.
Lastly, another military concept is Fingerspitzengefühl. This is an intuitive, dynamic philosophy with German military origins. Over the years, a wide range of military leaders have used it from fighter pilots to experienced combat leaders. To explain what it is, here is a definition.
Fingerspitzengefühl Definition
“… Fingerspitzengefühl is a German word that translates literally to ‘finger tips feeling,’ but it’s probably easier to understand as ‘intuitive feel’ or ‘having one’s finger on the pulse’”
Taylor Pearson
So even for businesses, great leaders develop a sixth sense. They can spot patterns and understand situations with less information than others need. Indeed, they are like a chess master who sees the whole game in a single move. Obviously in today’s fast-moving digital world of business, this intuition, this “Fingerspitzengefühl”, is more valuable than ever. While data analysis matters, it can be slow moving and rigid if it overly focuses on gaining a perfect picture of the situation.
Hence, the best decisions in a rapidly changing environment often come from experienced leaders who trust their gut with only the limited amount of information that is available. Hence, this blend of experience and instinct helps companies move faster and spot opportunities others miss. For more information on Fingerspitzengefühl, see Unvarnished Facts’ article, The Fingerspitzengefühl Way: Its Intuitive Situational Awareness For Businesses That Will Exploit Digital Tech.
For more detailed discussion on situational awareness needed for modern businesses, see Unvarnished Facts’ article, Organizational Situational Awareness: How To See Remarkably In The World Of Digital Tech and AI.

Organizational Situational Awareness: How To See Remarkably In The World Of Digital Tech and AI
The best leaders have a knack for seeing the whole picture. This is called situational awareness. In the past, this meant knowing your market and watching your competitors. But technology has changed everything. Today’s successful companies use AI and other tools not just to gather information to detect problems, but to spot opportunities before anyone else sees them.
Click here where I will look at what situational awareness means for decision-makers, organization, and even AI in this high-tech world. Next, I’ll look at several examples of key military tenets forged from battle for achieving situational awareness. Indeed, these concepts are very applicable for businesses that operate in today’s rapidly changing digital environment. Lastly, I’ll explain the three ways that digital technology and AI can rapidly increase situational awareness in corporate decision-making. Namely, how tech enhances decision-makers ability to quickly perceive, comprehend, and predict.
For more from Unvarnished Facts, see the latest articles on decision-making, learning, and conflict.
Writer and advisor in supply chain technology and operational analytics. Passionate about giving actionable insights on information technology, business, innovation, creativity, and life in general.