Issue the Order

This is the sixth in a series of posts on using the Six Troop Leading Steps (BAMCIS) in the War of Life.

Get caught up here:

Lead Yourself First

Begin the Planning

Arrange for Reconnaissance

Make the Reconnaissance

Complete the Planning

The penultimate step in BAMCIS is: Issue the Order.

In the Marine Corps, this means the leader communicates the plan to the unit, often standing around a map or a terrain model.

In professional and personal development, it means you communicate the plan clearly enough to execute it.

That sounds simple, but as our buddy Carl von Clausewitz said, “Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.”[1].

Quite often, people’s plans are just vague intentions floating around in their heads.

“I need to get serious.”

“I should start training again.”

“I’m going to eat better.”

“I need to write more.”

“I want to be more disciplined.”

That's not an order. It’s a wish.

An order is clear. It provides the mission, the situation, the plan for execution, the required administrative and logistical support, and the command and signal. (Who is in charge-You, and how you will track progress towards mission accomplishment)

It removes ambiguity, and ambiguity is where friction and chaos live.

If your order is vague, you can negotiate with yourself.

If “work out more” was your order, skipping today isn’t failure because, more than what?

If “eat better” is your order, almost anything can be justified.

If “write more” is the order, you can think about writing and call it progress.

This is why you need to issue the order to yourself.

Preferably on paper in plain language.

Here is the mission. Here is why it matters. Here is what I will do. Here is when I will do it. Here is the standard. Here is what I will do when the enemy shows up. Here is how I will measure and report progress.

For example:

Mission: I will lose 20 pounds in 6 months to improve my health, energy, and physical readiness.

Execution: I will train six days per week, eat the same simple meals Monday through Friday, walk after dinner, and weigh in every morning.

Standard: No missed training without rescheduling. No chow after dinner. Weekly AAR every Sunday. The minimum acceptable standard is 5 sets of bodyweight exercises, even if they are done on the side of the road or in the airport.

Enemy Most Probable Course of Action: Fatigue, evening hunger, travel, social pressure, and rationalization.

Immediate Action Drill: If I miss a session, I train the next morning. If I overeat, I return to the plan at the next meal.

Or:

Mission: I will become a more consistent writer by publishing one essay every week for twelve weeks.

Execution: I will write from 0600 to 0630 Monday through Friday. I will outline on Monday, draft Tuesday and Wednesday, edit Thursday, and publish Friday.

Standard: One published essay per week. Quality matters, but completion is the standard.

Enemy Most Probable Course of Action: Overediting, self-doubt, distraction, and waiting for inspiration.

Immediate Action Drill: If I am stuck, I write a bad paragraph and keep moving.

The point is not to turn life into military school; it is to make your commitments executable.

Your future self isn’t helped by your ambition.

Your future self needs clear instructions and accountability.

If you can’t explain your plan, you don’t have a plan.

If you can’t state your standard, you don’t have a standard.

If you haven’t identified the enemy’s most probable course of action, you will run into the same ambush again and again.

Issue the order. Then execute.

Today’s tactic:
Turn one goal into a written order. Mission, Plan for Execution, Enemy MPCOA, and Immediate Action Drills. If it’s not simple enough to follow on a bad day, it’s not simple enough.

John - Your arms dealer for the war of life

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