The 5-Paragraph Process for Everything

"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.