You Did a SWOT, So Now What?
Three-steps for deriving value from a tried-and-true strategy framework.
Chances are at one time or another you have taken part in a?SWOT Analysis
Over-burdened by the list of weakness and threats that could destroy your business and underwhelmed by a lack of a clear understanding of how to leverage these outputs to grow it.
Too often SWOTs seem to accomplish little more than documenting of depressing potential outcomes and unfunded and unplanned growth initiatives.
The truth is a SWOT exercise alone is of little value.
to derive value from a SWOT exercise, two more meaningful, but little known or understood steps are required. At VENN we refer to these steps as SWOT Syntheses and Strategic Road Mapping - competencies that we’ve spent years perfecting and which you can leverage to turn a SWOT into one of the simplest but most powerful tools for strategic planning
SWOT Synthesis
Step two begins where the documenting of the acronyms leaves off. Utilizing a 4-box grid, each identified strength is compared to each opportunity to uncover common themes and methods for maximizing opportunities based on our what an organization does best.?Next, strengths are compared to threats in the same manner, to explore and formulate how an organization can leverage its strengths to minimize the threats to the business. Then relationships between opportunities and weaknesses are assessed to determine which of the opportunities can be leveraged to minimize the weaknesses of an organization and how this might be achieved. And finally, weaknesses and threats are compared to discover and articulate ways that weaknesses can be minimized to avoid identified threats.
By way of example, let’s assume some of the strengths identified in a SWOT Analysis of a particular business include a strong financial position, a deep human resource competency, and a proven track record successfully integrating acquisitions. Next let’s assume its threats include encroachment of new market entrants into the organization’s sector, and a lack of competencies that customers appear to want, need and desire.
A strategic imperative then might be for the organization to leverage its strengths of liquidity, strong onboarding and integration competencies to explore building, buying or partnering with a company that possesses these new capabilities, thereby minimizing threats to the business in the process.??
Once all four quadrants have been compared in similar fashion, two-three action items are typically identified for each of the four comparison sets. These statements form the strategic imperatives that in turn serve as the primary content for a strategic roadmap.??
This third step includes identifying key messaging themes based on an assessment of trends, customer insights
For example, if one of the strategic imperatives is to protect key employees by investing in HR programs, SAP or Adobe might be selected as Mentor Brands because both are large businesses recognized leaders in employee engagement. The purpose is to easily communicate the intent of the strategic recommendation to all stakeholders, by simply stating that the organization hopes to become, “...the SAP” of its industry when it comes to employee engagement.”
Finally, ownership of each initiative developed in the SWOT Synthesis is incorporated into Strategic Roadmap and is assigned to a member of the leadership team
While SWOT Synthesis is a deceptively simple method, it’s not always easy - especially the first time one attempts it. Leaders might struggle at first to figure out how to compare the quadrants, but with a little practice, it often becomes a way to problem solve. As importantly it’s an efficient way to harness positive capabilities and attributes while simultaneously minimizing challenges and limitations.
Of course, you can always call your friends at VENN to help you facilitate this process!
In the interim, the next time a SWOT exercise rears its head within your organization, take a deep breath and remember, brainstorming lists is just the first of three steps to maximizing the potential hidden in a SWOT analysis.
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ABOUT VENN
Founded by four marketing veterans, VENN is a unique hybrid of a management consulting practice and a marketing services agency. Designed specifically to help mid-sized brands grow and thrive, our Working Partners apply their big-league expertise and more than a century of combined Fortune 500 experience to the Middle Market. Our carefully curated Collective of independent,seasoned, cross–functional specialists extends our capabilities even further. Together, we co-create smarter strategies and activate ingenious creative more quickly and with greater impact.
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5 个月I just love a great SWOT!??