Tool 09/30 - SWOT

 

The objectives of this short ten minute exercise -

1. To learn a tool that will be helpful in work life 
2. To apply the learning within a few minutes of learning
3. To use this as a morning ritual to start a great day 

Step 1 - the warm up

Keep your journal and pen at hand

Sit in a relaxed position with an intent to go into a ‘flow state’ to learn something new

Take three deep, powerful breaths to lock in your focus and start the next step

Step 2 - the learning

About SWOT

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) was introduced in the 1960s by Albert S. Humphrey at Stanford Research Institute. It helps organizations assess internal and external factors influencing their performance. Widely used in strategic planning, SWOT aids in decision-making by identifying competitive advantages, addressing vulnerabilities, and leveraging opportunities in the market.

Once you do the SWOT, the next steps are - create/ execute plans to use strengths to capitalize on opportunities, to address weakness, to defend against threats. 

Situations (examples) where this tool can be best used

• Launching a New Product
• Improving Employee Engagement
• Mergers and Acquisitions

The top three mental muscles (competencies) developed by practicing this tool

• Strategic Planning - Defining and executing strategies aligned with organizational goals
• Problem-Solving - Addressing challenges thoughtfully and decisively
• Decision-Making - Making well-informed, timely, and often high-stakes decisions

A corporate story to understand the usage of this tool

The Indra Nooyi story – Leadership at PepsiCo Through SWOT

Strengths

Visionary leadership - Nooyi successfully transformed PepsiCo into a more diversified and sustainable food and beverage company.

Strategic thinking - She made bold acquisitions, such as the purchase of Quaker Oats and SoBe, to expand PepsiCo's portfolio.

Innovative marketing - Nooyi launched several successful marketing campaigns, including the "Live for Now" campaign, which appealed to younger consumers.

Weaknesses

Dependence on sugary drinks - PepsiCo's reliance on sugary drinks, such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew, posed a significant risk to the company's reputation and financial performance.

Limited presence in emerging markets - Despite Nooyi's efforts to expand PepsiCo's global presence, the company still lagged behind competitors in emerging markets.

Opportunities

Growing demand for healthy snacks - Nooyi recognized the trend towards healthier eating and invested in PepsiCo's snack business, including the acquisition of KeVita, a probiotics company.

Expansion in emerging markets - Nooyi sought to increase PepsiCo's presence in emerging markets, such as China and India, through strategic partnerships and investments.

Threats

Increasing competition from rival companies - PepsiCo faced intense competition from rival companies, such as Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

Regulatory pressures - Nooyi had to navigate increasing regulatory pressures, including sugar taxes and labeling requirements, which threatened PepsiCo's profitability.

A story from the World Wars

My personal story

The context - When creating a retail banking product, we had to study what our competitors had, what our target customer base would be, what drawbacks of competitor products were, the size of our competitor organisation etc. This is how we mapped these thoughts.

Strengths

Domain experience in international banking - we already had product building experience with some live international sites

Weakness

We were a small startup 

Opportunities

Most of our competitors were legacy software. We had used new technology to build ours

Threats

There were some giants already operating in the space for a long time

Step 3 - the reflection

Sit back, go down memory lane, think of various events in your work life where you could have used this learning.

If nothing comes to mind, think of a situation that would help you answer any one of these interview questions.

1. “What are your greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses?” - Highlight your specific skills and achievements. Acknowledge areas of improvement listed in the W quadrant while showing how you're addressing it
2. “Can you describe a time you analyzed a situation to solve a problem?” - Explain how you used SWOT to analyse the situation and executed appropriate plans
3. “How do you handle threats in the workplace?” - Give some examples about the threat you faced and how you managed them. For example, some career women may feel that gender bias and challenges in work life balance are big threats. Many of them handle this by seeking mentors or by becoming diversity champions 

Step 4 - the practice

Apply your learning to the situation you selected above.

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

Step 5 - the victory lap

Celebrate your achievement for a minute. Maybe a quick victory lap doing some energizing exercise?

**

To those who felt, “poor past experiences with certain tools can create aversion or skepticism about management tools.” - Do you feel that the last ten minutes were worth the effort? 

This exercise is not only about management tools. It’s about building a neural pathway. And it’s about my mantra for creating small daily acts of feeling successful and happy. 

Don’t forget to carry this image 👇 in your mind. There could be a great situation where you may want to use the tool. Keep a log of all such situations. This practice will help you when you want to train someone.

My congratulations for your first dose of the day of success and happiness. Have a great day ahead.