Your SWOT analysis is a balance sheet of your strategic position right now. In the analysis, you
bring together all of your internal factors, strengths and weaknesses, as well as your external
factors, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are factors that you can control and
affect. Opportunities and threats are outside of your control, which you can either try to take
advantage of or try to minimize.
To complete your SWOT analysis:
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Review your list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Condense similar
factors. Eliminate the ones that are non essential. You need to assess your strategic
position. If there are too many factors, it is impossible to draw any conclusions.
Under strengths and weaknesses include only the factors that are internal and
controllable.
Under opportunities and threats include only the factors that are external and out of your
direct control.
Change is the only constant in business. Therefore assessing your strategic position is as
dynamic as the environment you operate in. Know that your SWOT just captures a moment in
time, like your balance sheet. Take this tool out every time you go into your strategic planning
cycle.
The SWOT is only as good as the information it contains. A good understanding of your
strengths and weaknesses, your market opportunities, and the external threats are essential to the
assessment. Gathering information from your customers about the effectiveness of your
products/services and Council are essential for the SWOT to identify key issues. The purpose of
a SWOT is to help produce a good fit between your Council’s internal resources and capabilities
and your external environment.
In the analysis, you bring together all of your internal factors, strengths and weaknesses, as well
as your external factors, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are factors that you
can control and affect. Opportunities and threats are outside of your control, that you can either
try to take advantage of or minimize.
SWOT analysis and process depicted:
Internal
External
Strengths
Opportunities
Weaknesses
Threats
SWOT purpose – help to develop a good fit between Council’s capabilities and its environment.
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FOCUS ON STRENGTHS
SHORE UP WEAKNESSES
ACKNOWLEDGE THREATS
CAPTILIZE ON OPPORTUNITIES
Internal Assessment: Strengths
The internal assessment examines strengths that exist within your organization. Strengths
encompass everything your organization does well. This includes capabilities, skills, and
resources you can leverage and draw upon to execute plans and actions within your organization.
Strengths are only meaningful when they assist an organization in meeting customer/constituent
needs.
Strengths give a Council enhanced competitiveness. Strengths give an organization certain
advantages in meeting the needs of its target customers. A Council is market focused when it
uses its strengths to meet customer requirements. You can define your strengths by breaking
them down in these areas. Then align them with the strategic direction you want to go.
Internal Assessment: Weaknesses
The internal assessment examines weaknesses that exist within your organization. A weakness is
something your organization lacks or does poorly in comparison to others, or a condition that
puts it at a disadvantage. Weaknesses encompass everything that is holding your organization
back from achieving your goals or serving your customers/constituents.
Weaknesses in a Council identify disadvantages in meeting the needs of its target customers.
You can define your weaknesses by breaking them down in these areas. Then align them with
the strategic direction you want to go.
Examples of Strengths and Weaknesses:
Capabilities:
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Human Capital – have the right people with skills/abilities in the right places to do their
job
Organizational Capital – structure, leadership, management and teamwork
Knowledge Capital – identifying, capturing, sharing and leveraging knowledge
Resources:
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Financial Resources – cash, line of credit, loans, owner’s equity, credit agreements
Physical Resources – facilities, technology, machinery
Intangible Resources – goodwill, reputation, brands, intellectual property
Processes:
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Operational Processes – developing and sustaining supplier/vendor relationships,
producing products/services, delivering product/service to your customer
Customer Management Processes – selecting, acquiring, retaining and building
relationships with customers
Relationship Management Processes – environmental, employee well-being, community
contributions, alliance management
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Innovation Processes – identify market opportunities, manage ideas, develop and market
new products/services
Technology Management – tool to make processes in your Council run efficiently
Communication – communicate , communicate, communicate
Productivity – working smarter with the resources you have, get the same results in less
time.
Current Customers:
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Actual customer size/volume
Mix Satisfaction
Loyalty
External Assessment: Opportunities
The external assessment examines opportunities that exist in the marketplace. Opportunities are
situations that exist but must be acted on if your organization is to benefit from them.
Opportunities most relevant to your organization are those that offer important avenues for
growth, have the most potential for competitive development, and those that match up well with
the financial and resource capabilities that your organization already possesses or can acquire.
The success or failure of your organization depends not only on your internal capabilities and
resources (strengths and weaknesses), but also on things that happen outside of your control
(opportunities and threats). Opportunities are external factors, forces that you don’t control, but
can take advantage of if appropriate.
To be strategic in your business, you must discover how to spot future opportunities. Think about
and plan for the future operating environment and industry trends. The value lies in anticipating
change before it happens.
External Assessment: Threats
The external assessment examines threats that exist in the marketplace. Threats exist independent
from your organization. Threats refer to external conditions or barriers that may prevent your
organization from reaching its objectives. Your organization should recognize these threats and
try to minimize them.
The success or failure of your organization depends not only on your internal capabilities and
resources (strengths and weaknesses), but also on things that happen outside of your control
(opportunities and threats). Threats are external factors, forces that you don’t control, but can
take advantage of if appropriate.
To be strategic in your business, you must discover how to spot threats as soon as possible.
Think about and plan for the future operating environment and industry trends. The value lies in
anticipating change before it happens.
Examples:
Your answers to these broad-reaching questions will tell you a lot about who you are today and
what might need to change. It will also give you a better sense of the type of resources you'll
need to commit to reaching your organization's future.
Environmental Analysis
Identify environmental trends and events that have the potential to affect your Council.
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What are the economic and demographic changes that could affect your Council in your
market?
What are the technological developments or trends that could affect your industry?
What political and legal changes might impact your industry?
What are the current/emerging trends or components of society that will impact your
Council?
What are the key areas of uncertainty that have the potential to impact your Council?
Market Analysis
Identify the primary market your business competes in, the market trends, and opportunities.
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What is the primary market you compete in? (Geographic, functionally or industry)
What is profitable in your market? What is not profitable in your market?
Is the customer base growing or shrinking?
Why are customers using your product/service? What is the value provided?
Are there substitute products/services? What are they?
Is the power of your suppliers growing or shrinking?
Are there opportunities in your primary market that you could capitalize on?
Are there current or growing threats that you need to be aware of?
What are two markets your Council does not currently operate in that are potential
opportunities?
Competitive Analysis
Identify companies you compete against and their characteristics.
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List your existing and/or potential competitors by name or group. What are each one’s
strengths and weaknesses? Are these opportunities or threats to your Council?
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What are your competitors’ competitive advantages?
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What is happening with competitors? Is competition growing or shrinking?
Are there new competitors emerging?