Michael J. Penney

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The Veterans Show: Applying the Military OPS Order to Business

On June 26, 2020, Michael J. Penney joined The Veterans Show for a live episode titled “Applying The Military OPS Order To Business.” The stream ran about 33 minutes.

About the show

The episode description places it with the Veterans Chamber Radio Show and its mission:

The Veterans Chamber Radio Show features military veterans, spouses, and community leaders making an impact in business, non-profit, or the government for the veteran community.

The Veterans Show episode description

What the episode covered

The title says it plainly. Every Marine operation starts with an operations order, and Michael’s 5 Paragraph Business Plan uses that same order to plan a business. The episode notes put it this way: he is “the creator of the ‘5 Paragraph Business Plan’ – – taking the military operations order format and applying it to business.”

His service record: eight-plus years in Marine Corps infantry and three combat tours: two to Ramadi, Iraq, with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (2005-06 and 2007), and one to Kajaki and Sangin, Afghanistan, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in 2011, where he led a section of advisors. Between those tours he served at Quantico as a weapons instructor. He left the Corps as a Sergeant with an honorable discharge.

The notes describe his work at the time:

He currently works as an advisor to business leaders around the globe, calling upon his military experience to assess, train, advise, and assist businesses in the implementation of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan.

The Veterans Show episode description

Why it mattered then

This was the summer of 2020. Many businesses had been forced to rethink their plans in a matter of weeks. A planning method built for situations that change fast, with a clear mission, clear roles and a way to communicate, was an easy case to make that year.

It was one of several veteran shows Michael joined in 2020 to explain the method, and the short format kept it focused on the core idea.

Looking back

The phrase “assess, train, advise, and assist” comes up again and again in his bios from this time. It is the work of a military advisor team, the job he did in Afghanistan, now aimed at business leaders.

The episode is still on The Veterans Show YouTube channel.

Watch 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.

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Live with Michael Bluemling Jr. Ep 78: Michael Penney (2020)

In February 2020, Michael Bluemling Jr. released episode 78 of the Live with Michael Bluemling Jr. Podcast, titled “Michael Penney Discusses His Organization, 5 Paragraph, and Being a Conservative Veteran Entrepreneur.” Listings date it February 10, 2020. It runs about 48 minutes.

What the episode covered

The title sets out three topics: his organization, the 5 Paragraph method behind it, and what it meant to be a veteran running a business with conservative values.

The episode description gives the same bio that appeared across his interviews that year:

  • Marine Corps infantry with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, deploying twice to Ramadi, Iraq, in 2005-06 and 2007
  • Reenlisted and moved to Quantico as a weapons instructor
  • A third combat tour in 2011 with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, leading advisors through Kajaki and Sangin, Afghanistan
  • Honorably discharged as a Sergeant after more than eight years
  • TEDxRaleigh speaker in March 2016, with “What’s Your IED: How to Add Value During Life’s Explosive Situations”

The notes describe the 5 Paragraph Business Plan as taking the military operations order format and applying it to business, with Michael advising business leaders on how to put it to work. The episode was distributed on Libsyn, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and Himalaya.

Why it mattered then

Most of Michael’s earlier guest spots stayed on business and transition. This one put his values in the title. The show is listed under news and politics, and the title signals a conversation about values as well as business.

It was also the start of a working relationship. Six months later, in August 2020, Bluemling, credited as Michael “SGT” Bluemling, Jr., co-hosted Michael again on Veteran Nation, an NRN+ series about the challenges veterans face when they come home.

The description lists two websites for listeners who wanted to learn more: 5PARAGRAPH.COM and 5ParagraphBusinessPlan.com. Both pointed to the same idea, a business plan written in the format of a military operations order.

The guest list around this episode shows the show’s focus. The next episode, number 79, featured Rhonda Furin discussing her candidacy for U.S. Congress in California District 45.

Where to find it

The show’s Libsyn directory page now says it is no longer available, but the episode is still listed on Spotify and other podcast apps.

Listen on Spotify

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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Honor Across Arms: Business Development Professional (2019)

On December 8, 2019, the Honor Across Arms podcast from Society Bytes Radio released episode 31, “Business Development Professional – Michael Penney.” The show describes itself simply: “Hear the stories of our vets past, present, future.” The episode runs about 27 minutes.

Part 1 of 2, as posted to YouTube on December 8, 2019.

What the episode covered

The episode notes give the fullest version of his bio from that period. They open with his service:

Michael J. Penney is a combat veteran of Iraq & Afghanistan. He served in the United States Marine Corps infantry with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines deploying twice to Ramadi, Iraq, in 2005-2006 and 2007.

Honor Across Arms episode notes

From there the notes follow his path out of uniform:

  • Quantico: he reenlisted during his second Iraq tour and moved to Quantico as a weapons instructor.
  • Afghanistan: in 2011 he deployed a third time, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, leading a section of advisors through Kajaki and Sangin.
  • TEDxRaleigh: his March 2016 talk, “What’s Your IED: How to Add Value During Life’s Explosive Situations.”
  • The 5 Paragraph Business Plan: released in April 2017, taking the military operations order format and applying it to business.

The notes describe his work at the time this way:

He currently works as an advisor to business leaders around the globe, calling upon his military experience to assess, train, advise, and assist businesses in the implementation of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan.

Honor Across Arms episode notes

They close on a personal note: a proud father of four, married, living near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Why it mattered then

The phrase in those notes, “assess, train, advise, and assist,” is the language of a military advisor team, the same job he had done in Afghanistan. By late 2019 he was using it to describe his work with businesses. The episode title reflects that shift: he was introduced as a business development professional, not only as a veteran.

The talk named in those notes was delivered on March 19, 2016, and posted by the TEDx Talks channel that June. The book followed on April 14, 2017. By the time of this episode, both had been part of his introduction for more than two years.

Where to find it

The original Spreaker page for the episode no longer loads. The episode is still on Apple Podcasts, and part 1 is on YouTube above.

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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Motivated Mindset Ep 23: Michael Penney on the 5P Plan (2019)

On April 11, 2019, Jeff “JD” Demers released episode 23 of The Motivated Mindset, titled “Interview w/Michael Penney of ‘5 Paragraph Business Plan.'” The conversation runs just over an hour, at 1:02:42.

What the episode covered

The episode came two years after Michael published the 5 Paragraph Business Plan in April 2017. The show notes introduce him as a Marine Corps veteran and the creator of the plan, and the host calls it one of his favorite interviews.

The notes focus on who the plan is for. They point to two groups:

  • Employees inside larger companies who think like owners and want to stand out in their organizations
  • Leaders who want their organizations to run more efficiently and to grow

That framing was a little different from many of his earlier interviews, which tended to focus on veterans starting their own businesses. Here the plan was pitched just as much to people working for someone else. According to the notes, Michael also offered a bonus to the show’s listeners and followers.

Why it mattered then

By 2019 Michael’s message had shifted. From 2015 to 2018 he was best known as a co-host of Cigars and Sea Stories. In 2019 he was a business author and advisor, and the operations order he had learned in the Marine Corps had become a product.

The idea behind the plan is simple. Every Marine mission starts with five paragraphs: situation, mission, execution, administration and logistics, and command and signal. Michael kept that structure and used it to plan businesses instead of patrols.

Long-form motivation and self-development shows like this one gave him a full hour to walk through it, well beyond what a short news interview allows.

The book behind the episode was a 91-page, 8.5 by 11 inch paperback, released in April 2017 under the 5 Paragraph Business Plan imprint. It was written to be worked through with a pen, one paragraph at a time, the way a squad leader fills in an order before a patrol.

This interview was an early stop in a long run of guest appearances. Over the next two years Michael carried the same message onto many more shows, including Honor Across Arms, Veteran Nation, Time To Shine Today and A New Direction.

Where to find it

The episode listing is still online, but the listing site warns that the audio file may no longer play, and we have not found a working copy elsewhere. If you have a copy, or know where the episode lives now, we would like to hear from you. If one turns up, we will add it here.

View the episode listing

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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Change Your POV NIW009: Michael Penney on Whitetail Deer Hunting

On November 29, 2017, the Change Your POV podcast posted episode NIW009, “Michael J Penney of Cigars and Sea Stories Talks Whitetail Deer Hunting.” It was his second time on the show. The first, about a year earlier, was about his deployments and his drive to add value. This one was about deer. It runs just over an hour.

What the episode covered

The host introduces Michael with real warmth:

This week on the podcast we’re joined by my old and close friend Michael J. Penney.

Change Your POV NIW009 description

The description sums up who he was by late 2017:

  • A Marine combat veteran with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
  • A foreign weapons instructor, a Police Advisor to the Afghan National Police, and a trained designated marksman
  • A serial entrepreneur, or “Vetrepreneur,” and the published author of the Five Paragraph Business Plan
  • A co-host of Cigars and Sea Stories, which the host calls one of his favorite podcasts

Then it gets to the point of the episode:

Penney is also an avid outdoorsman, hunter and lover of all things venison.

Change Your POV NIW009 description

The host credits Michael for getting him hooked. Michael shared the first deer he killed in North Carolina with him, and the host says Michael is in many ways “responsible for my obsession with deer and deer hunting.” On the show they talk about how Michael’s season was going, “extreme” tactics for calling in whitetail deer, and a range of other topics. The description admits that list runs all the way to how you handle nature’s call in the woods.

Why it mattered then

Most of Michael’s appearances in 2016 and 2017 were about service, transition and business. This one shows another side of him: the hunter and outdoorsman, swapping tactics with a friend. For listeners who knew him from Cigars and Sea Stories or the 5 Paragraph Business Plan, it was a looser, funnier hour.

It also shows the friendships behind the work. The host is not just booking a guest. He is talking with the man who got him into the woods.

Looking back

The same description that calls him a published author and podcast co-host also calls him an avid outdoorsman. This episode is the public record of that side of him.

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
Watch Live