One of the most ubiquitous tools in business is the SWOT analysis, in which you list the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing your group. The problem is that, as traditionally used, a SWOT analysis "does not offer a clear path to action," Laurence Minsky, an associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, and David Aron, a professor of marketing and director of graduate programs at Dominican University, write for the Harvard Business Review.
Here's what they recommend instead.
Series: Lessons from the C-suite
Why SWOT analyses aren't as helpful as you might think
According to Minsky and Aron, as it's typically conducted, the SWOT analysis "is simply [a] list and categorization of the internal and external situational factors related to the subject that you're evaluating," making the exercise little more than "an elegant organization tool."
A few additional factors make most SWOT analyses unhelpful, Minsky and Aron write. First, because people often try to capture their entire SWOT analysis on a single PowerPoint slide or sheet of paper, their assessments often consist of "exceedingly short, often one- or two-word descriptions," which can then lead to "shortcuts in thinking," they write. For instance, "an important attribute like 'price' might be listed as a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat without further explanation," they write.
Further, a SWOT analysis can be hard to interpret "because of the lack of hierarchy," Minsky and Aron write. Each of the four quadrants in the analysis are equally emphasized, making it "merely a snapshot of the current situation—or, worse, a snapshot of what's currently on the minds of brainstorming session attendees."
It's also easy for people to misunderstand the "opportunities" section of the analysis, Minsky and Aron write, "presuming that they are recommendations of 'what could be done.'"
Even so, a SWOT analysis can be useful—so long as the process is tweaked, Minsky and Aron write.
How to fix the SWOT analysis? Do it backwards—and end with clear recommendations.
One key change that Minsky and Aron recommend is that, rather than starting with strengths and weaknesses, you start with external factors—the opportunities and threats.
There are a variety of reasons for this approach. First, the external factors "exist not only for your firm but for all competitors," they write. "In effect, the external factors create the arena in which the competition takes place"—and help determine what internal attributes are relevant.
Further, focusing on external factors—both positive and negative—at the start will "get you thinking more broadly about the internal factors, reducing the risk of myopia," which in turn helps you "uncover internal factors that you might not have otherwise considered," Minsky and Aron write.
After you look at the external factors, Minsky and Aron write that you should explore your internal strengths and weaknesses. And at this stage, don't "settle for one- or two-word descriptors like 'price' or 'technology,'" they write, urging people instead to "explicitly spell out the situation with a detailed phrase or sentence."
Then, you should go one step beyond the traditional SWOT analysis and generate clear strategic recommendations, Minsky and Aron write. They advise using a simple construct, such as an adaptable phrase like, "Given the condition of (external factor), our ability to (internal factor) leads to our recommendation that we (recommendation)."
As an example, Minsky and Aron consider an external factor of the recession and an internal factor of price. In that case, an analysis might generate recommendations such as, "Given the condition of our current recession, our ability to realize cost savings over our competitors leads to our recommendation that we reduce our price," or, "Given the condition of our current recession, our low brand recognition leads to our recommendation that we target this brand for reduced marketing support, in favor of our stronger brands."
According to Minsky and Aron, this approach "is straightforward and demands attention to a range of internal and external factors, and the results are recommendations that are more thoroughly developed and grounded" than those of a traditional SWOT analysis (Minsky/Aron, Harvard Business Review, 2/23).
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