SWOT analysis is one of the core tools I used to teach when I trained Business Analysts. It is a tool that is perfect for people who are Creating A New, Beautiful And Courageous Existence.
While being an easy form of analysis, covering teaching the basics of SWOT analysis AND applying it to Canbacing is too much for one blog.
Therefore, I’m going to give you some basic SWOT training in this blog. I will cover using SWOT analysis whilst Canbacing in a blog published on Wednesday 27th February. I will provide a link here when it is published.
Let’s face it, if you don’t understand what SWOT is, it’s not going to be much help to you.
SWOT analysis background
SWOT analysis was first introduced by Albert Humphrey in the 1960s. He was an American business and management consultant. While working for the Stanford Research Institute he developed the strategic planning method we now call SWOT Analysis. SWOT helps to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats related to a project or business venture.
It is very easy to learn yet punches far above its weight. In business an hour performing SWOT analysis can save thousands of pounds in the real sense of money saved or better invested. There are also the less obvious benefits associated with increased performance and risk reduction.
Now you know the basics let’s look at the four elements of SWOT in turn.
To make it easier for you to understand I’m going to give you an example of using SWOT to prepare for a job interview. Almost everyone will have experienced that situation at some stage in their life. If you can see how to use SWOT analysis in this way, it will be easier to you see how it can be used in other aspects of your life.
One of the most effective ways to perform SWOT analysis is to ask a series of open questions relating to the focus of the analysis. Here are my job interview related questions:
Strengths
- Which of your professional qualifications set you apart from your peers?
- What other skills make you stand out from the other candidates?
- Which achievements are you most proud of?
- What expertise do you have in a specific area that will make a difference to this organisation?
- How would your boos/co-workers describe your strengths?
- What projects/campaigns have you completed successfully?
Remember not to be too modest about your strengths. This is no time to be bashful. You’ve got talents and you shouldn’t hide them under a bushel!
Weaknesses
- Which skills, experience and/or qualifications do you need to have or improve in order to be an ideal candidate for the role?
- What are your negative work habits and personality traits?
- Which other traits could you improve to be more efficient?
- What do you avoid because you lack self-confidence?
Be as honest and realistic as possible. You need to be honest because otherwise what’s the point in doing the analysis. If you can identify a weakness, then you have taken the first step at improving the situation. In terms of being realistic I mean is it REALLY a weakness in THIS situation. I have problems with my back, knees and hips. These would be a weakness if I was applying for a job which involved long hours of physical labour. However, they are not really an issue for jobs where most of the work is done sitting at a desk. UNLESS of course sitting for long periods of time causes a problem.
Opportunities
- What skills could you bring to the company or team that are currently missing?
- How could you help the organisation enter new markets?
- What experience do you have in new trends that are affecting your industry?
- How much experience do you have in new technology that is being introduced/developed?
- What contacts do you have that would be beneficial for the new company?
Remember that opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Simply being on the lookout for opportunities means more opportunities will come your way. Opportunities are great when they match your strengths. However, don’t dismiss opportunities that don’t match your skills sets. Consider all the pros and cons fully before disregarding them. Some of the greatest opportunities are related to dealing with weaknesses or overcoming threats.
Threats
- What obstacles do you currently face in your career?
- Who is your competition?
- Will new technology or changes to legislation/qualifications slow your progress?
- How is your job or industry changing in ways that could affect your advancement?
- What are the obstacles that prevent you from achieving your targets?
- Are your personal traits hurting your career advancements?
- What are the implications of staying in your current job OR not being successful in the interview?
Identify as many threats are you can. A threat that you are aware of causes less damage than a threat that comes out of nowhere. Two of the easiest “fixes” are to deal with any negative personality traits you have identified and improve your skills set/qualifications.
Once you have identified a threat you need to plan how to deal with the threat. You have two basic options. Reduce or eliminate the chance of the threat becoming a reality. Alternatively work on reducing the damage cause if the threat becomes a reality. Most people end up doing a little of both.
Addition information
Ask other people their opinion about your strengths and weaknesses. Ensure that you ask people that you trust and respect. Remember to add their opinions to the list regardless of whether YOU think they are strengths or weaknesses.
Sometimes it is easier to think about the threats first as these are easier to identify. Then you work backwards to identify the opportunities that help you eliminate the threats. For example:
Threat: Someone else is better at presenting in from of groups
Opportunity: Join Toastmasters to improve your presentation skills
Doing SWOT analysis is a great way for prepare for those awkward questions that sometimes trip interviewees up. You know that ones:
- Why do you want to join our company?
- What special skills would you bring to the team/company that are currently missing?
- Why are you the best person for the job?
- What critical feedback do you most often receive?
- Tell me about a time when you have overcome an obstacle
- How do you handle stress?
Performing more in-depth SWOT analysis will prepare you better for answering these types of questions. If you are totally stuck, you could always answer “That’s an interesting question. Unfortunately, the answer to it wasn’t revealed when I did SWOT analysis in preparation for this interview. Could you give me a moment or two to consider my answer?”
Practice makes perfect
It’s all well and good writing about things in theory: however, we need to start applying what we learn. Download the SWOT template here. Do a practice run on something work related. This could be your current job or your perfect job. It might be about a project that you know is about to start that you would like to be involved in. This practice run is to familiarise yourself with the analysis tool in preparation for completing a CANBACE SWOT analysis when I publish the second part of this blog on Wednesday 27th February. When it is published, I will provide a link here.
To help you keep track of all your work for the daily activities mentioned, we have created a Monthly Diary for you to record your progress. To download your copy of “My February Canbace Diary” please click here.
Be kind to yourself …
In CANBACE friendship!
If anything I have written resonates I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I appreciate that this can be a difficult subject to speak openly about. If you don’t want me to publish your comment on the website, please let me know. I will keep your words private.
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