SWOT Analysis

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)

Have you ever heard about SWOT/SLOT analysis?

According to Wikipedia:

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate Strengths, Weaknesses/Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

I heard about this for the first time when I learned about Principal of Marketing. It gives me a new thought about how to approach different situation using this analysis. Actually we can use SWOT analysis in our daily problem, from looking for a job, venturing to new business, launching a new product, even looking a life-partner (yeah seriously you can use this method :p). I would like to elaborate on this method on how to use it to our different situation and using my own example to support the explanation. I hope this will help you in understanding the method and apply it in your own problem.

Before moving to each application, it's better to understand each element in SWOT analysis. First the method is divided into two elements, internal and external. Internal means the characteristic of the subject while external means the outside forces that affect the subject. Let's start one by one:

1. Strengths

One of the internal dimension, a characteristic of the subject that gives the advantage over the others. It's like your power to strike the enemy, the weapon used in war. Our strengths could be our value, talent, education, knowledge, family, capital, friend, etc. Basically it could be anything that gives us competitive advantage over the other. It is a differentiation factor that make us better than the rest. It's like our Unique Selling Point. Think about the competitor/enemy, what do you have better than them? However don't be too subjective hence make the judgment not fair and balance. Don't be unfair unless you want to plan yourself to fail. Be objective, realistic, and fair. List down all your strengths.

2. Weaknesses/Limitations

Well everything have two side of coins, nobody is perfect. If there is power, there will be weakness. While focusing on power and strength, we need to know our weaknesses well. Don't let people to pick it up from us. We need to try to understand ourselves better than others. What could you improve? What are limitations that you face? Don't say you have none, everyone will have one. Again be realistic and objective. However don't underestimate or mark yourself down.

The first two elements help us to reflect on ourselves. Taking a mirror in front of us and describe what you see there. By knowing ourselves, we can better understand others. According to Sun Tzu on The Art of War (from Wikipedia):

知己知彼，百戰不殆。

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win numerous (literally, "a hundred") battles without jeopardy.

 3. Opportunities

It is a external dimension to look around which give us advantage and more value. Come in a form external chances to improve performance in the environment.  Changes that happen in society can give you added value, from example social media booming. If we can use it right, it can be a weapon for us to hold our ground. List all changes happening in society that you can use for your advantage. Don't limit yourself, be wide and imaginative. Think globally and internationally.

4. Threats

Again everything comes in good and bad effect. While opportunities give more advantage, threats give us trouble and headache :p. It could be the external obstacles; such as laws, regulations, technology, etc.

Everything is linked together and can turn to one another. Our weakness can be an opportunity for us. We should think how to make it our strengths by mitigate/solving the problem. Again threat can be another opportunity for us to think big. If we let our guard down, our strength can backfire us. Hence we need to always think and analyze fairly, objectively, and equally. Remember each element is connected together.

After having so much explanation and theory, let's use them in our real life problem and application. I will try use 3 different situation to apply SWOT analysis; looking for job, launching product, and looking for lifetime partner. Let's start from the first:

1. Looking For Job

Objective:  to prepare ourselves in this tight competition on getting job.

For this we need to prepare ourselves to get ready for interview. Get ready to be asked about our strengths and weaknesses, hence to prepare beforehand is a good practice. Let's see how to apply SWOT analysis:

Strengths: Our education background, personal skills, work experiences, language, leadership, organization involvement, group discussion, etc. Asked ourselves what makes us different?

Weaknesses: What could we improve? What should we avoid? What other factors hinder yourself from others? For example lack of time management, heavy laziness, over pride, etc.

Opportunities: What are current booming industry? Easy access for company information and job online, network and connection with industry player, etc.

Threats: Other students with higher grade, competitive market, government regulation, company policy on hiring, etc.

We can ask and think about some of these pointers. Be prepared and get ready, be different like a  red rose in the middle of white ones. Show your self above and higher than other. Remember to turn your weakness and threat to your opportunity to improve and get better.

2. Launching A New Product

Objective: to launch a new product into market.

Strengths: What is Unique Selling Point of our product? What makes it better than our competitor; the taste, the shape, the color, the quality, etc? What makes is stand out from other its kind product?

Weaknesses: What are the bad side of our product? What makes us lesser value than our competitor; the higher price, small production, small capital, lack of manpower, etc?

Opportunities: How to use current social media in promoting our product; Facebook page, Twitter, web promotion, etc? Can we make an event to promote this product?

Threats: How will our competitor react to our product? Is there any substitute to our product, especially cheaper one?

We need a deeper analysis to make sure the product will be a great success. We need to combine with deep market research, market test, business plan, execution plan, market test, prototype, etc. SWOT analysis is just a small part to give early understanding about our new product.

3. Looking for lifetime partner

Objective: to find special someone whom we will spend our life with.

Strengths: What is our higher value; higher education, high social status, our family wealth, our personality, etc? What gives us the upper hand than other man/woman?

Weaknesses: What can turn us down, our boring talk, over protective, heavy jealousy, too talkative, stingy, etc? What could we improve on our bad side?

Opportunities: Having taller height could give more advantage, especially for man. Joining different club in school or university will widen our social network. Attending mix school also will help us in make social connection. What other opportunity that will help you in finding the right one? Thousands Facebook friends perhaps :) 

Threats: Better man/woman around with higher social status or wealth. Different religion may also limit our potential lifetime partner. And number of people with different "preference" may also affect your future partner.

It's how you "market" ourselves; either looking for job or future lifetime partner. But don't oversell yourself. Again remember to keep your analysis fairly, objectively, and equally. Don't underestimate and mark yourself down also. Everything must be balance on the scale. At the end SWOT analysis is just a method to help you to prepare yourself. However the result will depend on your execution. How well you make the thing happen will determine your  result. Be positive thinker and hard worker. A method is just a way to achieve the goal but the process will determine the far you will go. Be prepared but also be surprised.

~Wilson Wijaya, Lee/21 July 2012~