Confront Reality With SWOT

It’s a classic tool, a staple in the world of strategic planning. Whether it’s an old friend or a new concept, the SWOT analysis is a great exercise to empower your strategic thinking and planning endeavours by taking a 360-degree view of your organization.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats – four perspectives designed to bolster your understanding of both internal and external dynamics.

Strengths are the internal characteristics of the business that give it an advantage over the competition. 

Weaknesses are internal characteristics that place the business at a disadvantage. 

Opportunities consist of the external elements that the business can exploit for an advantage. 

Threats are elements in the environment that could pose a risk to the business. 

Opportunities and threats are external to the organization and cannot be controlled by the business; however, the organization can choose how it will react to the opportunities and threats.

The best way to use the SWOT exercise is a facilitated session during a leadership meeting. Prior to the session, allocate time for your team to research and gather insights about your market and industry. This intel will fuel your exploration of opportunities and threats.

Once everyone’s armed with information, gather for the SWOT analysis session. Keep it snappy, perhaps a focused 25-minutes. Divide your team into two groups – one delving into internal strengths and weaknesses, the other dissecting external opportunities and threats. You can also mix it up, contrasting positives and negatives, or distributing strengths and opportunities in one group and weaknesses and threats in another.

The real magic happens when these perspectives converge. After the groups have worked on their pieces, it’s time for a collective discussion. Here’s where the insights collide and conversations take flight, informed by the nuances filling those SWOT quadrants.

The final step is to select the top three from each quadrant. It’s like finding the gold nuggets in a treasure hunt. With this concentrated list, you’ll see your strategic decisions start to shape up.

In a world that just won’t sit still, where industries are always playing musical chairs, the SWOT analysis is like your trusty compass. It’s the tool that helps you figure out where you stand and where the winds might blow. So, embrace the SWOT analysis, and let it kindle the sparks of strategic decisions that matter most.

In the meantime, check out Ryan’s video below to learn more about the SWOT exercise and download our worksheet: