Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Basics
SWOT Analysis Overview
What is SWOT Analysis?
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is a tool used to
provide a general or detailed snapshot of a company's health. Think of your SWOT
as a tune-up that every business needs periodically to diagnose and fix what’s a bit
worn, what’s on the verge of breaking down, or what’s already broken and needs
replacement--so that you can keep the business humming—even better than it has
in the past.
9 SWOT offers professional managers an effective evaluative technique to aid the
decision making process.
9 It can not find the solution for you, but it will ensure that issues are: identified,
classified and prioritized clearly, showing the problem in terms of key underlying
issues. Decision makers can then see the answer.
9 It's a four-part approach to analyzing a company's overall strategy or the strategy of
its business units. All four aspects must be considered to implement a long-range
plan of action.
Get input from at least 3-5 key people who have varying views & opinions
© Copyright 2006 - Advanced Integrated Technologies Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
Page 12
SWOT Analysis
Tricks
9 Minimize the “group grope” and meeting stuff while developing your SWOT — meet
to discuss the SWOT, modify it as necessary, and develop one or more action steps.
9 Ask the hard questions and challenge all of your basic assumptions — none are
sacred.
9 Be objectively critical but also don’t undersell yourself.
9 Get the key facts but don’t get paralyzed with analysis and fact-finding. You may
need to do some other fact-finding and analysis before implementing your
recommendations, but don’t get bogged down at the micro-level of detail.
9 Keep “personal” issues off the list — and handle those separately.
9 This is important, especially if there are to be major changes in the organization and
the content of the program; all members should feel comfortable that this is a group
process, not dominated by factions or individuals.
“Its what you learn after you know it all that counts!”
- John Wooden
© Copyright 2006 - Advanced Integrated Technologies Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
Page 13
About The Author
© Copyright 2006 - Advanced Integrated Technologies Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
Page 15