A Correction about SWOT
I’ve been writing a lot about strategic deep thinking–the importance of finding more than one solution to any problem–as part of my Thinking Outside of the Box Series at Successful-Blog.
In my research I came across something that reminded me of a pet peeve of mine. The experiences I’ve had in business with the misuse of SWOT Analysis.
“SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for looking at the Opportunities and Threats you face.” says James Manktelow
Gosh, it sure could be and probably is. Unfortunately, when I’ve encountered it, the folks who used SWOT dropped the word Analysis. They thought of SWOT as strategy.
There’s a world of difference between those two words, not just editorially. Analysis underpins strategy. By treating SWOT as what it was not, the thinking never went to the strategy level for real–because they thought they already were there. Instead the corporate thought was stuck in the abyss of analysis with only passing thought to what came after that. Write the notes from the white board and circulate them. The deep thinking required to make informed choices after the analysis didn’t have room to breathe.
The way we use words and understand them has an impact once again.
Liz Strauss