With Grad school (MBA program) coming up at the end of the year, I thought it would be best to review the SWOT analysis table.
I had originally learned this, along with other management topics from Undergrad a few years ago.
Table of Contents
SWOT Analysis Table Notes
Strengths
- What do we do well?
- What can we leverage?
- What resources do we have?
- What are our core competencies?
- How are we positioned?
- What are our competitive advantages?
- What are our unique selling points?
Weaknesses
- What is available now that weakens our hold?
- What is our recovery speed?
- What gaps are in our service?
- How is the market doing?
- What are a few scary trends?
- What contracts or partnerships are coming up that need attention?
Opportunities
- What has released that makes expansion easier?
- What target markets are in reach now?
- What trends can we take advantage of?
- What key partnerships and synergies are available?
Threats
- What market disruptions are startups leveraging?
- What service out there is better than ours?
- What technologies simplify our offerings?
- What new regulations are there that hinder our operation?
What is a SWOT Analysis?
The acronym SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT (not SWAT) analysis is a business framework used to identify areas of gaps and growth. It’s essentially a strategic planning tool.
Besides looking internally it also evaluates external factors to help mold a detailed overview of your organization. I use the term evaluate because it avoids theories and estimations. Even though you can get really specific, it’s not a cure-all and should really be used as a step-by-step plan.
Update: one of my favorite websites that help me through grad school is Investopedia. They have more of a write up on the intricacies of a SWOT analysis. It’s pretty good.
Update 2: Vultr exhibited great business continuity planning. I would say this is definitely a strength. I didn’t get a notice like this from any other cloud provider I use, which is about 4 others at the time.
