Tag Archives: Military

Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies

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A handful of military leaders, notably in the United States Army, embrace a fairly standard five-paragraph memo to outline, strategize, and communicate unique action plans. I feel the following memo structure, identified by the acronym SMESC (or “Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies”), will serve most civilian leaders well. I have every intention of practicing it into my business in the future:

  1. Situation: What is the problem?
  2. Mission: What is the principle task at hand and purpose behind it?
  3. Execution: What strategy are we going to use to accomplish the task?
  4. Support: What are the logistics? How many troops and resources will we need?
  5. Command: What other groups should be involved and how will they communicate?
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Hollywood Is like the Army [Film Friday]

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Only without honor and push-ups. There’s a high level of discipline (though not necessarily the same caliber of punishment). There’s a system of rank and rigid hierarchy, especially on set. There’s a delicate network of specialized soldiers – and the brigade is only as strong as its weakest link. But unlike the army, Hollywood uses ego and opinions instead of bullets to survive.