In a competitive world, personal success is no shortcut. It needs planning, setting goals, and crafting the right strategies.
Self-evaluation is half the battle before preparedness can start to win any project. That is where SWOT analysis takes a central spot in giving the best and cost-effective real big picture about any business or individual, who may be a professional, student, or big capitalist.
Along with these variables a realistic assessment of one’s capabilities, strengths and weaknesses is imperative before an action plan is made ready.
The long-term vision also involves adding new strengths by repairing areas of weakness. This solution is best expressed in SWOT analysis representing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
The tool is used by a large number of user groups including businesses, individuals, professions, students for periodic self-assessments and plan out the growth and confront challenges realistically,
SWOT analysis is a means for individuals as well as organisations to achieve a strategic direction amid internal and external factors.
Introduced by Albert Humphrey in mid-1960s SWOT has been useful for all individuals, businesses, and all those seeking periodic self-assessments and strategizing.
It explicates internal strengths/weaknesses and external opportunities as determinants for taking meaningful decisions. SWOT still commands more users than specialized methods like BPMN or Business Process Modelling Notation.
SWOT diagrams may vary in shape but the focus on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a trackable manner remains the core. Now professionally designed SWOT analysis templates are available customised to all end users.
For self-assessment via SWOT anytime is the best time. But people do at specific events as the pressure is high at a turning point in education, career, growth, etc
Attending interview: For a job seeker or a student awaiting hiring a quick SWOT can give an update on strengths and weaknesses concerning a specific event and can prepare the CV accordingly.
Such an exercise will reduce the demands between job requirements and skills. It must be remembered that in 6 seconds a recruiter will decide whether the candidate before him needs to be hired or not.
Promotion to higher post: SWOT helps candidates to get an insight into the actual strengths against competitors.
Career change: A SWOT analysis can convince a person whether his skills match the opportunities in the new career or how good is he for the current job.
SWOT analysis improves accuracy and helps in moving to the best strategic direction. It is also good for testing ideas to assess their suitability. Many times, an idea may look grand, and not necessary it must click in the external environment.
These days SWOT analysis is also done with 3D visualisations with numerical values ascribed to each factor as marks of differentiation between major and minor strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
By doing a SWOT assessment there all possibilities and easier adaptation emerge as a major advantage. So the major benefits are the following. Help to prepare and predict actions. Judge a situation using VUCA before taking a decision. VUCA is volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
SWOT analysis is the favorite of all business ventures as it measures anything that has a bearing on external and internal factors.
SWOT analysis can be done by a teacher to assess a student and help him know his SWOT. The student must fill in the information on strengths and weaknesses on a template. The self-evaluation can focus on the positives and negatives.
This can be done to an entire batch of students or struggling students. The students must discuss their SWOT analysis and the teacher will guide them realistically, setting short- and long-term goals. A student’s strengths will include academic, social, emotional, and interpersonal strengths.
SWOT identifies strengths and weaknesses and points the opportunities and threats. With a realistic awareness of all four using them to an advantage is the way to success.
For a person who knows the strengths and opportunities, there is confidence and security in his decisions. He also knows the weaker areas and improves for new strengths while confronting obstacles posed by external threats.
For example, if a person’s strength is an innovative and creative approach with an open mind he will appear much efficient compared to his peers. For many people, one reason that eludes success is the internal resistance to change and inability to adapt to a changing world. Innovation and creativity always drive a career.
Creativity and Innovation help in staying ahead of the competition and get an upper hand in any field. Good quality resources also spell success. Education and experience are the most important personal resources.
Better resources offer better success and beat the competition. Resources also face competition. That is why education is deemed a competitive resource and knowledge a critical variable for success. In personal success, the capacity to advance and apply education is the key.
Despite adaptability to all situations in some persons, social skills will be needing curation.
Weaknesses are defined as “the drawbacks that hinder in executing plans in pursuit of a goal” according to Kinicki & Williams. This applies to individuals too. Whatever factor that holds back someone is a weakness.
Weaknesses can emanate from a lack of positive skills that competitors have. Some people will be hardworking and over-committed too. They may be open-minded, but hastily fall into trap of something they think is best and stand fixated without the ability to make a change of direction.
Over-commitment can create issues when mistakes pile up. This harms as it is going in the wrong path and a dead-end looms large. The enhanced commitment showing up as passion despite negative consequences will be draining time and effort. Even though commitment is a good part of leadership too much of it sucks.
Improving weaknesses is a big outcome of SWOT. In case, improvement is looking impossible avoidance can insulate from negative effects. It also buys time and saves the person from ambiguous situations without diluting the ability to compete at an equal level with other peers.