SWOT analysis or SWAT team?

Are you using SWOT analysis as a strategic planning method to see how you can capitalize on your strengths and improve on your weaknesses? Are you using SWOT to help you develop new ideas and broaden your view of solutions? Or are you a tunnel visioned SWAT team, just aimed at demolishing your threats.

SWOT analysis is a is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are helpful or harmful to achieving the objective.



To use SWOT analysis to help with creative strategic planning, in forming new strategies for the business venture or project and broadening your view. Ask the following questions:

How can we use and capitalize each strength?

How can we improve each weakness?

How can we exploit and benefit from each opportunity?

How can we mitigate each threat?


It is always important to keep in mind that if SWOT is not used creatively, taking into account all the solution possibilities, SWOT may harm performance. It may limit the number of possibilities considered in evaluation.