Revisiting SWOT
some observations
This time-honored management approach remains
a valuable tool in your strategic planning kit. To
refresh, the acronym stands for Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The
exercise is basically an assessment to be
utilized in going forward with planning.
However, be aware of the following:
1-It is basically an “inside perception” of where the
company stands and where it could improve. It is
only “one side of the coin.” To supplement that
exercise, it is also helpful to take an “outside in”
view of what could be. In other words, expand
the thinking well beyond the box that SWOT
puts you in and do “possibility” thinking. Many
people have “possibility blindness!”
2-Also, when you do the exercise, look at
“Weaknesses” as “an absence of a strength,” or
areas where strength could be built. It makes for
a nice acronym, but weakness in itself is negative
and suggests one can’t improve in that area.