The 5-Paragraph Process for Everything

2016-02-08T11:48:47-05:00

"SMEE-ACK."

What sounds like a reluctant, less-guttural and more-verbal sneeze has become a thorough rubric for every professional engagement I have planned since separating from the USMC in 2014.

S.M.E.A.C.

This unfortunate-sounding acronym is tattooed on the brain of every aspiring officer and noncommissioned officer (NCO) by the Marine Corps and by the Army, a handy mnemonic for the plan to trump all other plans.

It stands for:

S- Situation
M- Mission
E- Execution
A- Admin & Logistics
C- Command & Signal

I have seen the outline used for truly everything, from briefing a "field day" (the military term for a janitorial detail) to briefing the leadership of a 100+ vehicle convoy for a drive through a hostile village.

Although in short-form above, in practice it is a lot longer to go over. Here’s a more accurate look at what a SMEAC briefing looks like.

"All right guys:

The SITUATION. We have x number of vehicles, that only move so fast. We have been in the field for a few days, and I know that everyone is tired, but ready to rock and roll. The town up north is called Hatersville.

Our MISSION is to get through Hatersville by 19:30 this evening without losing any personnel or vehicles.

EXECUTION. Our best course of action will be to take A-Hole Street, travel north, and stay vigilant until all vehicles arrive at Blue Oasis, outside the village walls.

LOGISTICS. We have enough beans, bullets and Band-Aids to last a month, and I expect us to wrap this up in less than 12 hours.

I have COMMAND of this convoy. My call sign is "Bossy". We start rolling tomorrow at 0530, when I say "cowabunga" on Channel 14. If for some reason I'm not available, Lt. Smart, call sign "Pushover" will inherit my command.

Of course, in most cases, Marines/Soldiers would elaborate on each point, but this basic structure guides a leader through the thought process required to plan most engagements.

Seasoned five-paragraph-brief-givers can run through this acronym in their heads smoothly and quickly. Being able to do this on the fly gives a leader the appearance that they know what they are doing, and supports the reality that you have the whole situation planned out.

Here's a quick business application:

I think: SITUATION.
I say: Last summer we experienced record sales in lemonade. We attribute this to the recently-launched "organic" branding and our social media campaign.

I think: MISSION
I say: This summer, our goal is a 5% increase in sales over last year.

I think: EXECUTION
I say: We will continue our social media campaign and market our product in health and fitness media.

I think: ADMIN & LOGISTICS
I say: The marketing department will touch base with relevant magazines and health bloggers. We will budget $Z for advertising.

I think: COMMAND & SIGNAL
I say: If you run into any issues, inform myself or the CFO. I will be here for the next few weeks, but he may be out of the office. Just text us.

Of course, this is a super-simplified example. Any warrior (or motivated desk-jockey) would analyze the enemy situation (competition), troops available (assets/ resources), terrain obstacles (operational/ legal/ political problems), and time (think Gantt charts and deadlines). Still, this handy mnemonic is the skeleton for detailed planning, and is applicable to nearly every task imaginable.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Feb 8 at 2016 11:51 AM

2016-02-08T11:51:14-05:00

Capt Kathryn Whichard you can apply this application to anything logic and non-logic. It works! Thanks for sharing!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 8 at 2016 11:53 AM

2016-02-08T11:53:58-05:00

Fold in Troop Leading Procedures (TLP).

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Feb 8 at 2016 12:05 PM

2016-02-08T12:05:18-05:00

This is a great method for organizing your thoughts and making a plan. From what I've seen in the corporate world, any method to organize and plan methodically beats the norm...the lack of organization and planning. Thanks!

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 8 at 2016 12:21 PM

2016-02-08T12:21:45-05:00

It has been fun watching the emergence and evolution of Project Management in the civilian world. I taught many classes on PM (even before PM became a "thing"). I taught the use of PM applications for computers. When PMBOK appeared I was an outspoken critic of its many errors. As I told my classes, PM was conceived by the military, particularly the Navy in the 1950's. The military are masters of PM. I described how, when we had nothing more urgent to do, we planned for every eventuality of war. If there were such a thing as a war plan for fighting even our allies, we would dust them off and replan them based on updated intelligence. Surprisingly, PMI (The Project Management Institute) never picked up on SMEAC. I think if should be part of "the process".

Here's an example of my criticism that I published back in 2009...
http://interimitexec.blogspot.com/2009/05/risk-for-all-projects.html

The Interim IT Executive: A Risk for All Projects

A project that delivers an unacceptable result is arguably far worse than one that is cancelled or runs over-budget or over-schedule. By definition, the project is complete and the entire budget is spent. There is nothing left to fund a do-over; especially, not in a challenging economy.

Response by SSgt Mark Lines made Feb 8 at 2016 1:03 PM

2016-02-08T13:03:59-05:00

I do this subconsciously every time my wife and I plan to so something together. I sometimes drive her nuts!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 8 at 2016 1:32 PM

2016-02-08T13:32:32-05:00

Nothing like looking at a long paragraph for execution. I break it down to phases.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2016 5:15 PM

2016-02-21T17:15:25-05:00

"Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies" is how I've remembered this and the "Commander's intent."

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Feb 22 at 2016 10:19 AM

2016-02-22T10:19:17-05:00

Well Done... I too often find myself recalling the OpOrd to organize activities and to attain goals. I appreciate your examples, and your application of the process.