Michael J. Penney

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Michael J Penney

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5 Paragraph Business Plan: Michael Penney’s Book Released (2017)

On April 14, 2017, Michael J. Penney published 5 Paragraph Business Plan: The Action Oriented Business Management Tool For Leaders. The first edition is a 91-page paperback in an 8.5 by 11 inch format, published under the 5 Paragraph Business Plan imprint (ISBN 978-0692885895).

What the book is

The idea is simple. The military has planned missions with the five paragraph operations order for generations: Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin and Logistics, Command and Signal. Michael took that format and turned it into a way to plan a business. Each paragraph becomes a section of the plan, so the person writing it moves from the problem, to the goal, to the steps, to the resources, to who is in charge and how the team communicates.

The book’s current Amazon description puts the problem it solves this way:

Most businesses do not fail because they lack talent. They fail because they lack alignment.

5 Paragraph Business Plan, Amazon description

The description says the plan is meant to be a living document, not one written once and forgotten, so leaders, managers and frontline teams stay pointed at the same objective. It lists what readers learn to do:

  • Build a complete business plan using the 5 Paragraph framework
  • Improve communication and accountability
  • Align leadership and operational teams
  • Adapt quickly to changing conditions
  • Create a repeatable planning and execution process

Each major section of the book matches a companion audio tutorial at 5Paragraph.com.

Why it mattered then

Michael had been building toward this for years. As early as 2015 he was writing about using mission planning to start a business. By November 2016, podcast hosts were introducing him as the creator of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan, and his day job at Bunker Labs RDU was helping veterans plan and launch businesses. The book put that method on paper in a form any veteran, or any civilian, could pick up and use.

It also spoke a language veterans already knew. A Marine who has written or received an operations order does not have to learn a new system. They only have to point a familiar one at a new mission.

Looking back

By late 2017 hosts were calling him a published author of the Five Paragraph Business Plan. Amazon now lists it as part of the 5 Paragraph series, alongside his later book DOMINATE: The Special Operations Way To Win In Business.

See the book on Amazon

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

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HuffPost: Veteran Entrepreneurs You Should Know in 2017

On February 28, 2017, HuffPost published “Veteran Entrepreneurs you should know in 2017,” a contributor piece by Dwayne D. Paro, a veteran empowerment coach, author and podcaster. Michael J. Penney was #10 on the list, as founder of Cigars and Sea Stories.

What the article said

Paro opened by saying the previous four years had seen “the rise of the vetrepreneurs,” warriors turned business owners with a drive most civilian owners only wish they had. The list ran to “22.6” entries. The final “.6” spot went to American Dream U, an organization rather than a person.

Michael’s entry read:

Penney, a Marine veteran, and marksman, has turned his experiences and connections into the Cigars and Sea Stories Podcast.

Dwayne D. Paro, HuffPost, February 2017

Paro named some of the show’s guests: John Lee Dumas, Rudy Reyes, Tim Jensen, Evan McMullin and Sam Meek. He called the podcast a great place to hear their stories from the service, along with their transitions and new business ventures.

The rest of the top ten shows the company Michael was keeping:

  • Daniel Alarik, Grunt Style and Alpha Outpost
  • Travis McVey, Heroes Vodka
  • Jas Boothe, Discharged and Final Salute, Inc.
  • Jeremy Knauff, Spartan Media
  • Brandon Buttrey, Counterstrike Coffee
  • Donny O’Malley, Vet TV
  • Daniel Eric, Veteran Syndicate Radio
  • Greg Jumes, Victor App
  • Eric L. Mitchell, LifeFlip Media

Why it mattered then

By early 2017 the veteran business world had its own media scene of podcasts, apparel brands and online shows, and lists like this one helped people find it. Landing in the top ten next to Grunt Style and Vet TV put a two-year-old podcast alongside some of the best-known veteran brands of the time.

The entry also shows how people saw his role then. He was the connector. The show’s value was in the guests he could bring to the microphone.

Looking back

Several names on this list came back into Michael’s story. Later in 2017 Cigars and Sea Stories recorded with Daniel Alarik and Tim Jensen of Grunt Style. In 2018 Michael was cast as the voice of Axel in Jas Boothe’s animated comedy Discharged, and he was a guest on Jeremy Knauff’s Digital Marketers Podcast. Paro himself had Michael on his own podcast that August.

Read the list on HuffPost

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
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Change Your POV EP032: A Marine Veteran Adding Value (2016)

Episode 32 of the Change Your POV podcast was titled “Never Underestimate The Influence Of Marine Veteran Adding Value To The World.” It was recorded in late 2016 and posted to the show’s YouTube channel on January 1, 2017. The conversation runs a little over an hour.

What the episode covered

The episode summary introduces Michael as “a man on a mission to add value in everything he does.” The host and Michael talked through his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, his work as an entrepreneur, and his then-recent turn as a TEDx speaker.

The notes give a short version of his record:

  • Eight years in Marine Corps infantry, with three combat deployments
  • Two tours to Ramadi, Iraq, and one to Kajaki/Sangin, Afghanistan
  • Out of the Corps in 2012 and working as an entrepreneur since
  • One of the hosts of Cigars and Sea Stories and the chief contributor to BloodStripes.com

The summary says Michael, like many veterans, had a hard transition out of the Marine Corps before he found his purpose and mission. It points to one moment from Afghanistan as a turning point: sitting with his ankles intertwined with those of a Command Sergeant Major of an Afghan police force. The show calls that his “Change In Perspective,” echoing the show’s own name.

The notes close on a line he took as his own. They attribute it to Einstein:

Don’t be a man of success instead, be a man of value

As quoted in the Change Your POV EP032 notes

Why it mattered then

Most veteran podcasts in 2016 focused either on war stories or on business. This one did both in a single sitting. It treated his combat experience and his civilian work as one story, where hard lessons overseas shaped how he wanted to live at home.

It also caught him at a busy point. He was co-hosting Cigars and Sea Stories, writing for BloodStripes.com, and coming off his TEDxRaleigh talk from March 2016.

Looking back

Change Your POV brought Michael back in November 2017 for a very different topic: whitetail deer hunting. The “be a man of value” idea from this episode stayed with him. It is the same theme behind his TEDx talk and much of his work with veterans since.

Watch the episode on YouTube

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
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Veteran Resource Podcast #073: Michael Penney, Provide Value

On November 17, 2016, Jeremy Paris released episode 073 of the Veteran Resource Podcast, titled “Michael Penney – Provide Value.” Paris built the show to introduce veterans to the organizations that serve them, interviewing a different group each week about its mission and the veterans it works with. The episode runs about 45 minutes.

What the episode covered

The episode description opens with the project he was best known for at the time:

Michael J. Penney is the co-founder of Cigars and Sea Stories, a podcast devoted to sharing stories with veterans who are adding value to the world.

Veteran Resource Podcast #073 description

From there the notes lay out the rest of his story as it stood in late 2016:

  • Service: a former Sergeant who served eight years as an infantryman and weapons instructor, with three combat tours in two wars: Ramadi, Iraq (2005 and 2007) and Kajaki/Sangin, Afghanistan (2011).
  • Instructor work: he personally trained over 5,000 Marines and sailors in rifle and pistol combat marksmanship, foreign weapons, and precision weapons marksmanship and tactics.
  • The 5 Paragraph Business Plan: described as “an actionable approach to business.”
  • TEDxRaleigh: his March 2016 talk, “What’s Your IED,” presented as an effort to bridge the lives of veterans and civilians.

The notes also describe his new day job:

He currently works as program director for Bunker Labs RDU, calling upon his military experience to assess, train, advise, and assist veterans in business creation.

Veteran Resource Podcast #073 description

Why it mattered then

The Veteran Resource Podcast was a directory in audio form. Veterans listened to find out which groups could actually help them. Having Michael on as a program director at Bunker Labs RDU put a real door in front of listeners: a nonprofit that helped veterans start businesses, run by people who had made the same transition.

The phrase in the episode title, “provide value,” was the same idea behind Cigars and Sea Stories and his TEDx talk. It was the thread that tied his podcasting, his speaking and his Bunker Labs work together.

Looking back

Paris and Michael kept working together. In December 2017, American Grit wrote up a Cigars and Sea Stories episode with Grunt Style founder Daniel Alarik and described the show as “hosted by Marine veteran Michael Penney and Jeremy Paris.” The original audio file for this episode is no longer online, but the YouTube copy above is still up.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
Watch Live

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Veteran On the Move #136: Cigars and Sea Stories (2016)

On October 24, 2016, Veteran On the Move released episode 136, “Cigars and Sea Stories with Marine Veteran Michael Penney.” The host was Joe Crane. His show had passed 100 episodes of interviews about the people, programs and resources that help veterans move into entrepreneurship. The episode runs about 51 minutes.

What the episode covered

The show notes introduce Michael as the founder and host of the Cigars and Sea Stories podcast. They also mark a new role:

Michael recently took over as the director of the Bunker in Raleigh Durham, NC.

Veteran On the Move #136 show notes

The notes describe Bunker Labs as a national 501(c)(3) built by military veteran entrepreneurs. At the time it had chapters in 12 cities and offered educational programs, mentors, events and local networks to help veterans start and grow businesses.

Most of the notes lay out Cigars and Sea Stories. They use the same operations-order format the show had used since early 2016:

  • The show: a place for veterans “to act out and speak their minds,” covering relevant topics, interviews with prominent veterans and war stories. Any Marine or FMF corpsman could be a guest, recorded in by Skype.
  • Intent: empower veterans to act as a whole by creating positive change, voting on issues that matter, raising awareness for worthy causes and speaking out against injustice.
  • Desired end state: “a network of veterans that can accomplish any task and, an America that can actually police itself.”
  • Execution: the team travels to veterans who are making a difference and records on site, so listeners get candid access to their insights and sea stories.

The notes also announce a release schedule: two episodes a week, every Tuesday and Thursday.

Why it mattered then

This episode came at a turning point. Through 2015 and early 2016, Michael was introduced mainly as a podcaster and a BloodStripes.com contributor. By the fall he was leading the Bunker in Raleigh-Durham. That put him on the program side of veteran entrepreneurship, helping other veterans build businesses in addition to telling their stories.

Veteran On the Move had a big audience among transitioning veterans. The show claimed more than 500,000 verified listens. That was a strong place to announce both projects.

Looking back

The Bunker role and the operations-order habit both fed the 5 Paragraph Business Plan, his O-SMEAC-based framework for planning a business. The intent behind Cigars and Sea Stories, veterans speaking up and acting together, still runs through his work today.

Listen to the episode on ListenNotes

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
Watch Live