THE TOOLKIT – SOWOT
Each newsletter we give an overview of a simple tool that can assist in decision making. This quarter we look at SOWOT analysis.
Most of you would be familiar with SWOT analysis where you look at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to a business. In our opinion SWOT analysis is limited as it does not lead to action and answer the “so what are your going to do about it” question.
After preparing a traditional SWOT analysis you need to ask:
1. How can I use my strengths to capitalise on my opportunities?
2. How can I use my strengths to limit the threats?
3. What do I do to make sure that these weaknesses don’t spoil the opportunities?
4. What pre-emptive actions can I take if the weaknesses combine with the threats?
Once you have developed this shopping list of potential actions, prioritise them and drive their implementation.