KEEPING PACE

At some point in my career I became intimately familiar with PACE, traditionally applied to establish a solid communication plan capable of dealing with varying degrees of adversity. Basically, Murphy’s Law will show its ugly face once your mission actually starts, so it’s better to plan ahead when time is on your side. While serving as a team member on our installation Special Reaction Team, we always made use of PACE when planning for an upcoming operation:

(Ex. 1)

Primary – intended method of execution, most efficient (time/costs/personnel) and advantageous

Alternate – secondary method of execution with minimal or no impacts on the mission

Contingency – option A and B are off the table, less efficient and higher potential for additional obstacles

Emergency – a last resort, expect significant delays, increased costs, strained resources

Now, as you’ll note from above I mentioned PACE most often accompanies a communication plan, however don’t be afraid to ADAPT this to YOUR needs whether in service or out as a civilian. The examples I provided under PACE (Ex. 1) refer to a much broader scope than just a COMM plan, for example:

(Ex. 2) Develop PACE for each below

1. What’s our best avenue of approach?

2. What’s our best method for breaching?

3. What’s our best entry point?

It’s a pretty straight forward method for developing multiple “plans of attack” while taking time, costs, and other resources into consideration.

Once you EAS and are stationed at Camp Couch, you can absolutely apply PACE to your personal and professional life. Several areas that I’ve utilized it include enrolling in university, looking for housing (renting/buying), applying for and accepting jobs.

Universities (Ex. 3)

P. 3 Bed/2 Bath House A. 2 Bed/1 Bath Apartment C. Studio Apartment E. Live with Family (Say it ain’t so!)

Housing (Ex. 4)

P. Harvard A. U of Michigan C. Boise State E. Online Program

AND don’t forget, take what you’ve learned and pass it on!

If you’ve left the military, take this to your civilian job or apply it to your personal endeavors. Unfortunately, many people whether executives, managers, or employees fail to establish well developed plans that include next best or worst case scenarios. As you might expect, scrambling to get ahead of the power curve or back on track costs significantly more in terms of resources when compared to implementing PACE to reach your objective.

Joey Eisenzimmer is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, Project Management Professional, and Marketing Coordinator at Vets2PM. His goal is to help Military Veterans in any way possible including mentorship, sharing insights and lessons learned, and providing guidance for those transitioning to the civilian sector. One Team, One Fight. He can be reached at joey@vets2pm.com. Visit www.vets2pm.com to learn more about becoming a PMP credentialed Project Manager.

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