Misused as a brainstorm. Powerful as a structured audit.
SWOT Analysis is a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. It exists because:
- Annual planning cycle
- Strategy review or reset
- New business case development
- Competitive position under question
- Capability audit
- M&A or partnership assessment
Strengths exist only relative to competition.
Used properly, the tool delivers the following:
- Competitor benchmarking, not internal opinion
- Specific, evidenced statements
- Linked to strategic implications
- Reviewed annually, not buried in a file