SWOT Analysis and Daily Life

“Use your opportunities to overcome your weakness and use your strengths to overcome your threats.”. Lawrence G. Fine

SWOT analysis is a tool of environmental analysis. The daily tasks that we do are a totality of external and internal environment.

The factors which include opportunities and threats are a part of the external environment and factors including Strength and weakness are a part of the internal environment.

SWOT Analysis is a method which is used widely and it involves matching and combining the strength and weakness of the environmental opportunities and threats.

SWOT Analysis is a methodology of examining potential strategy derived from the synthesis of any organization’s strength, weakness, opportunities and threats.

The combination of the partnership of the different elements and the extensive data collected as a result of the SWOT ANALYSIS serves as a spark for the defined discussion and refinement of current strategies as well as generating new strategies.

Strength:

They are basically the ability to achieve the end results of the objectives. These are those areas where you are having an edge and which can be used to gain strategic advantage in your profession. Like:-

• The skills you are unparalleled in.
• Your talents or natural-born gifts.
• The strong connection that people see in you.

Weakness:

They are the limitations that are inherent, each individual needs to evaluate its weakness so that they can get the area where they are lacking or the areas where they need to hone themselves. Like:

• Which skills needs to be honed?
• What are your bad traits?
• Which habits needs to be changed?

Opportunity:

They are the favourable conditions persisting in the daily environment that adds to the strength and position of an individual while performing their daily task. Like :

• Is everyone happy from you?
• Are you making use of new technology?
• Are your skills accelerating?

Threats:

They are the unfavourable conditions persisting in the daily environment which might hinder the development or growth of an individual. Like:-

• What are your uncertainty?
• What are your areas of danger?
• Who are your colleagues that might give you a tough fight?

Why SWOT?

The most interesting part is that you can use SWOT analysis while performing your daily task without spending even a considerable amount of time and scratching your head. You can make use of SWOT while answering your daily questions like:-

• How to take advantage of a new business or promotion opportunity.
• How to respond to upcoming new trends.
• How to implement new strategies in life.
• How to deal with changes to your competitors’ operations.
• How to handle the downfalls and short comings.
• Foreseeing the dynamic environment.

It is also an essential key which is very helpful in taking the day-to-day decision in your personal life. Before buying any product or taking up any new project or work, it’s necessary to evaluate the impact of what can happen when you make that decision. You may find out that you will prevent yourself from making the wrong choice or decision while doing that task.

How can it benefit in your daily profession?

A SWOT analysis is a sort of a magical wand or a tool brainstorming and strategic planning. Marty Neumeier once said in his article “A good personal style will mostly come from your limitations, not your strengths. It’s the result of working around your shortcomings, using all the skills you can muster. Since your limitations are unique to you, your style will also be unique.”

Follow these simple steps of SWOT analysis:-

Sharpen your strength: Always hone the skills that you are perfect in and try to make the best use of them because if you evaluate and maximize strength periodically it might help you gain many opportunities.

Eliminate Weakness: To retain the actual position while performing the daily task, we need to measure our set standards with the present standards, if the weakness is measured in a limit than fine, but if the weakness goes beyond limits it’s necessary to take corrective measures which might eliminate the areas of limitations.

Grab the opportunity:- When you conduct a SWOT analysis, you get the ability to take the advantage of the new opportunities. And if you know the way to seize new or upcoming opportunities, it might help you for further success and growth.

Counterattack your threats:- Conducting a SWOT Analysis gives you a clear idea about the upcoming threats and the measures that might be feasible for counterattacking the same depending upon the other factors of the analysis.

To conclude…

SWOT Analysis is a helping hand for each and every individual which may help you while performing the daily tasks ignoring the fact whether you are a businessman, professional, student, homemaker or a working manager.

• Just as a skeleton provides a framework to the body, SWOT Analysis also provides a logical framework which helps in systematic discussions of any situation or any alternative solution that might be possible.
• SWOT Analysis acts as a guiding force which gives you a picture of the things and might help you with the future planning and ultimate choice of the decision.
• It compares the key external environment(opportunity and threats) with the internal environment (strength and weakness) and match them to the best of the capabilities.
• It identifies the current position of the individual and provides an overall structure and gives clarity in terms of work, skills, training etc.

So as far as managerial and professional is concerned, SWOT Analysis provokes the thinking and gives answer to several questions as explained above. In the emerging dynamic environment, it is of utmost importance and should be followed by each and every individual, because it is every important that you perform your daily task in an efficient and effective manner, with fuller utilisation of your abilities and skills