Most people are familiar with the SWOT analysis, even if familiarity causes us to run a mile from it! SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and the idea is we brainstorm them in turn. It is best to work through in that order, starting with the positives.
SWOT works just as well if you attempt it on your own although there are advantages to working in groups because more insights are likely to be shared and the outcomes are more likely to be owned by an organisation that has shared its analysis.
What tends not to happen is the analysis part of SWOT analysis. Having brainstormed each of the four lists, it’s easy to move onto the next thing without asking questions like, how do we:
- build on our strengths?
- address our weaknesses?
- take advantage of the opportunities?
- mitigate the threats?
Note the first two are internal questions and so it is usually possible to discuss them within the organisation. The second two may depend on things outside your organisation’s immediate control. Some action might help you take advantage of an opportunity but you don’t have control.
The circuit questionnaire asks for strengths and weaknesses. It’s worth adding opportunities and threats, to complete a SWOT analysis at this stage. You’ve made progress with an analysis of your brand in this element of the questionnaire and this is an opportunity to consider its implications.
PESTLE
Your situation will form your business and so it is worth considering things from outside your business. Thinking about opportunities and threats helps with that. PESTLE is a lesser known analysis sometimes used alongside SWOT. It is another set of six brainstorms. They don’t all apply to every business or organisation but it’s worth asking whether they do. PESTLE stands for
- Political – implications of government policy for your business should include local government and European Union (if you live in a member state)
- Economic – all aspects of economic trends including shares, austerity measures, money flow locally
- Social – this can be immensely important when considering local markets
- Technological (and/or Theological if you’re a faith group) – new technologies can have a major impact over a few short years. (Faith groups may need to be aware of new theological insights and trends in their traditions.)
- Legal – changes in legislation that will impact on your business.
- Environmental – particular issues in your area, eg flood plains as well as changes to environmental protection.
I find, as a lone worker, my strengths and weaknesses come out as about me. My personal strengths and weaknesses are the strengths and weaknesses of my business. This is one reason opportunities and threats are important because they encourage the sole trader to look beyond their own limitations. Mind mapping can be very helpful for the lone worker, using an online application such as Xmind.
I suppose larger businesses will tend to more impersonal results, although it may be helpful to record personal strengths and weaknesses somewhere. Appraisal systems can be one way of doing this.
Ultimately, it’s worth attempting a SWOT analysis at this stage but be aware of its limitations. It is a small part of the circuit questionnaire and the other questions can lead us to a deeper analysis.
