It's just about 2015 and time again for a strategy review. In my professional life I've become accustomed to starting a strategic plan with simple, fundamental tools that sift out the distracting elements and point to the important parts. one such tool is the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) Analysis.

If you've done a traditional SWOT in the past, you might have spent several sessions in groups (or solo) iterating over these four quadrants and possibly prioritizing each. The process tells you a lot about yourself or your organization, and forces you to ask/answer tough questions. It helps form a basis for a strategy - what to focus on, what to leverage to implement that focus. It can be in the context of corporation, operations, marking/sales, technology or even (for nerds like me....) personal life. It's a simple tool that produces quickly.

The problem I have with the SWOT process is that it tends to force isolation of strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats. I've observed people struggle with deciding whether something was a weakness or a threat. More importantly, the prioritization tends to be separated from the identification, thus potentially creating an rift between reality (what needs to be done) and fantasy (what we wish would be done).

To attempt to address this problem, I've created the SWOT Spectrum Process. I wanted something that was still very easy to execute, but that would point the way in prioritization. I also wanted to relate the four dimensions to each other in multi-dimensional ways (rather than just two broad axes), so that I can understand the interrelationships better.

Have a look and let me know what you think!

The SWOT Spectrum Process

  1. In a open-mind setting, just like in a SWOT shoot out facts about the context in which you're SWOTting.
  2. Instead of lobbing these at one of 4 categories, place them in a 4 quadrant map. Is the fact more of strength or weakness, and does it represent more of an opportunity or a threat? This decides which quadrant to place the fact in.
  3. For each fact, is it a strong fact, or a weak one with respect to the axes of the quadrant its in. For example, is a huge opportunity requiring capital something your organization has a strength in (perhaps, you're loaded with cash)?
  4. Iterate, brainstorm, discuss
  5. The SWOT Spectrum is now complete, and you can start making decisions on strategy using this chart:

Use this link to get a document version of the above.https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1_x-ZvwDa5dQVKGdhmLkkWN3UgFJnTBwQEYRf2RJzjio/edit?usp=sharing

Below is a sample result for my fledgling company for 2015.

  • Clearly, as with a lot of start-ups, opportunity lies in desire and what I've done in the past.
  • It also says my fundamentals (budget, location, infrastructure) are sound.
  • I should work on my Website and place some focus on networking (good professional network, but weaknesses in general channels)
  • I can't really do anything about Cash Flow. I therefore take a defensive attitude with a strategy to protect cash.
  • My marketing plan is in shambles and if I don't do anything, future work might be lost. But my marketing resources are only mildly weak, and improvements here diminish risk.

Use this link to get a document version of the above:

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1mCk9NlFNmKr1Uz75aXt7hXbauWbAbb9V4XKFBy1QvpU/edit?usp=sharing

I find the SWOT Spectrum far more helpful in basing a strategy than 4 prioritized lists. I hope you try this approach and give me your feedback!