Are You Doing the SWOT Analysis Backwards?

Minsky, L. & Aron, D. (2021, February 23). Are You Doing the SWOT Analysis Backwards? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/02/are-you-doing-the-swot-analysis-backwards

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Though the SWOT analysis is a ubiquitous tool in the business world, it isn’t always the most effective. Listing an organization’s strength’s, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can be helpful, but it doesn’t offer a clear path to action. To make SWOT analyses more useful and action-driving, organizations should inventory all environmental conditions, positive or negative, before examining the internal strengths and weaknesses. This will provide context for internal conditions and encourage broader thinking. Then, the organization should consider each external factor’s relationship with each internal factor. External-internal relationships of interest can generate recommendations in the form of: Given the condition of [external condition] and our [internal condition], our recommendation is to [x].

SWOT analyses are often used in marketing and communications, but I do agree with the article that they can sometimes seems like a fruitless exercise. This article provided concrete steps I can take when conducting SWOT analyses in the future so that they produce more strategic, actionable recommendations.

Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.