The 1/3-2/3 Rule: How Military Leaders Manage Planning Time

Let’s talk about a tool that the Special Operations community and US Military use to ensure that subordinates have plenty of time to prepare for and plan for upcoming missions. It is called the one-third two-thirds rule.

Let’s take a look at what the 1/3-2/3 rule is, how it integrates into the military planning process and training methodology, and then I’ll give you a military and a business example.

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What Is the 1/3-2/3 Rule?

We have all been given a last-minute order that severely disrupts what we are doing and doesn’t give us time to set the conditions for success. It is never fun to be jerked around by our boss or higher headquarters.

“Stop what you are doing right now and do this instead.” “Stop what you are doing and go there now.”

It is always nice to get a heads up. To be proactive. Not reactive. And this is why we have the 1/3-2/3 rule.

The One Third Two Thirds rule is all about time management. When you are planning or preparing for something, you need to take 1/3 of the time available to make your plan and prepare. But you should give your subordinates 2/3 of the available time to make their plan.

All too often a headquarters, civilian or military, will spend so much time planning that they never give their subordinates enough time to react to the plan. Frequently the higher headquarters wants to make the plan perfect, so they publish the 95% solution at the last minute rather than the 85% solution a week earlier.

Where This Fits in the Military Decision Making Process

The Military Decision Making Process, or MDMP, has seven steps. During the first step, called Receive the Mission, the planning staff notifies their subordinates that they just received a mission and issues initial guidance in what is called a Warning Order, or WARNO.

One of the key components of the WARNO is the timeline, and a good military planning staff will use the 1/3-2/3 rule to set their subordinates up for success. A well-written WARNO also includes the commander’s intent, giving subordinates enough understanding of the mission’s purpose that they can start planning even before the full order arrives.

I’ll go deeper into the full seven steps of MDMP in a future article. For now, the key point is this: the 1/3-2/3 rule isn’t a separate system from military planning. It is built into it from the very first step.

The OODA Loop Connection

The 1/3-2/3 rule is also connected to a concept called the OODA loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, developed by military strategist John Boyd. The OODA loop is about the speed of your decision-making cycle.

A headquarters that hoards planning time is stuck slow in its own OODA loop, and it forces that same slowness onto everyone below it. When you give your subordinates 2/3 of the available time, you are speeding up their OODA loop. They can observe, orient, decide, and act faster because you didn’t burn all the clock making your own plan.

I’ve publishing a full article on the OODA loop that breaks this decision-making concept down in much more detail.

Delegation: The Leadership Skill Behind the Rule

At its core, the 1/3-2/3 rule is a delegation tool. Delegation is one of the hardest and most overlooked leadership skills, and it isn’t just about handing off tasks. It’s about handing off time.

When a leader gives up 2/3 of the available planning time to subordinates, that leader is trusting the team to do planning that used to sit only at the top. That is real delegation, and it forces leaders to get comfortable with a plan they didn’t personally build every detail of.

Leaders who can’t let go of planning time usually can’t let go of control either. And that bottleneck is what kills tempo in any organization, military or civilian.

Training Plans and the 1/3-2/3 Rule

As we discussed in the video on training methodology, PTREXAR is an effective tool that the Special Operations community uses to train and develop any skill, competence, or mindset. PTREXAR stands for Plan, Train, Rehearse, Execute, Analyze, and Repeat.

In the training and development context, if a higher headquarters doesn’t use the 1/3-2/3 rule, a Special Operations team will never have time to plan, train, rehearse, execute, analyze, and repeat.

In the military, we like to be deliberate about making training plans. But if you don’t give your subordinates sufficient time to plan for their own training, they will never maximize growth and development.

Military Operation Example

The easiest way to illustrate the use of the 1/3-2/3 rule is during combat operations.

Imagine that intel says the bad guy is going to be on the objective three days from now. A bad headquarters will take two, or even two and a half, of the three days available before they finally issue the order to the subordinate unit that will execute the mission.

But a good headquarters will issue a WARNO to the Special Operations team doing the mission within one hour of receiving the intelligence report about the bad guy being on the objective. This allows the headquarters staff and the Special Operations team to do simultaneous, or concurrent, planning.

A good headquarters will issue their operations order the first day, so the Special Operations team has the remaining two days to plan, rehearse, and then stage for the mission.

Business Example

Imagine that it is Monday morning and a business identifies a welding flaw in a product and needs to figure out how to update that product before it is shipped to retail stores Friday afternoon.

A bad headquarters spends two, three, or even four days making the plan about what to change, which gives the production team only a few hours to react and implement the changes.

But a good headquarters, as soon as it identifies the flaw in the product, gives the production team a heads up that they are going to need to make some changes. This heads up, or WARNO, allows the production team to do simultaneous or concurrent planning.

The headquarters takes one day to plan and issues the change requirements Tuesday morning. This in turn gives the production team three and a half days to react. They can make their own plan on how to reprogram or replace the robot that is making the faulty welds. They will have time to make samples and conduct quality control to ensure that the product is perfect.

Bad Headquarters vs. Good Headquarters

How to Apply This This Week

• Send the heads up immediately. The moment you receive a new task or piece of information, send a WARNO to your team right away, even before you have a full plan.
• Time-box your own planning. Limit yourself to no more than 1/3 of the total time available before you pass the plan along.
• Hand off the remaining 2/3. Give the rest of the time to the people who actually have to execute the plan.
• Include your intent. Even if the full plan isn’t ready, tell your team the “why” behind the mission so they can start planning in parallel.
• Resist the urge to perfect your plan at your team’s expense. An 85% solution delivered early beats a 95% solution delivered too late to use.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 1/3-2/3 rule?

The 1/3-2/3 rule is a time management tool used by the Special Operations community and the US Military. A leader takes 1/3 of the available time to make a plan, then gives subordinates the remaining 2/3 of the time to make their own plan and prepare.

Why do military leaders use the 1/3-2/3 rule?

Military leaders use this rule to avoid a common failure: spending so much time trying to make a perfect plan that subordinates never get enough time to plan, rehearse, and prepare for their part of the mission.

What is a WARNO (Warning Order)?

A WARNO, or Warning Order, is an initial notification sent to subordinates as soon as a mission or task is received. It gives subordinates a heads up and often includes the commander’s intent, allowing them to start planning before the full order is issued.

How does the 1/3-2/3 rule relate to the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP)?

The 1/3-2/3 rule is built into the first step of MDMP, called Receive the Mission, where the WARNO is issued. The timeline set in that WARNO is where the 1/3-2/3 rule gets applied.

How does the 1/3-2/3 rule connect to the OODA loop?

The OODA loop, Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, is about the speed of decision-making. A leader who hoards planning time slows down their own OODA loop and forces the same slowdown onto their team. Giving subordinates more time speeds up their ability to observe, orient, decide, and act.

Can the 1/3-2/3 rule be used in business, not just the military?

Yes. The rule applies anywhere a leader has to make a plan that affects a team, including business scenarios like production changes, project deadlines, or crisis response.

What is commander’s intent, and why does it matter for the 1/3-2/3 rule?

Commander’s intent is a clear statement of the purpose and desired outcome of a mission. Including it in a WARNO lets subordinates begin planning around the “why” even before the detailed plan is finished.

What happens when a leader doesn’t follow the 1/3-2/3 rule?

When a leader takes too much of the available time, subordinates are left with only a fraction of the time they need to plan, rehearse, and prepare, which increases the risk of failure regardless of how good the leader’s own plan was.

About the Author

Christopher Littlestone is the founder of Life is a Special Operation and Special Operations University. He is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel, Airborne Ranger, and Combat Diver who spent his career planning and executing missions under real time pressure, where a poorly managed timeline had real consequences.

His YouTube channel has grown to nearly 380,000 subscribers, and he has personally trained thousands of students through Special Operations University, maintaining a 4.9-star rating on Trustpilot along the way.

Christopher draws on decades of operational planning experience, from Special Forces missions to military decision making processes, to help civilians, business leaders, and aspiring military personnel build the planning and leadership skills required to succeed in life.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

The 1/3-2/3 rule is a great way to ensure that you don’t accidentally spend all of the time available making the perfect plan that never has time to be implemented.

So the next time you are under time pressure to get something done, don’t forget to send a heads up, or a warning order, to your subordinates. Then take 1/3 of the time available for your own planning, and give 2/3 of the time available to your subordinates for their planning and preparation.

If you would like to go deeper into planning, leadership, and mindset, I encourage you to explore the resources available to you at Special Operations University:

• Military Planning Course – Plan Like Your Life Depends on It
• Military Leadership Course – Become the Leader Everyone Respects
• Special Operations Mindset – Develop a Champion’s Mindset

Life is a Special Operation. Are you ready for it?