SWOT Examples - Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities And Threats Examples

SWOT Examples – Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities And Threats Examples

S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Using a SWOT diagram is a very useful way to centralize data in a way that can be very easily read. SWOT diagrams are applicable to almost any domain from economy, urban planning, or business ventures, but at the same time can be used to help you make better decisions or asses how to develop your carrier. I have found that trying to analyze your capabilities using this method is something anyone can do, and I want to encourage others to do the same. I will try to give brief examples of how to build your SWOT diagram in the paragraphs below.

A. Strengths – what advantages do you have over others, what personal resources do you posses, what do other people see as your strengths. In the following paragraphs I shall demonstrate the use of Strengths in some SWOT examples:

1. Perseverance. Even though I may not have an inborn talent for a specific task, I will work hard at developing my skills in that area and sooner or later I will be able to do it better and be surer of myself than people who have a knack for that job.

2. Professionalism. I am very rigorous in my work and I make it a priority to do my work at the quality and in the time I said I will do it. Even though this may not seem like a big thing it is hard to find people who consider professionalism as the most important characteristics of any business.

B. Weaknesses – what do you avoid doing, or put off until the last moment, what are you not confident enough you can handle. In the following paragraphs I shall demonstrate the use of Weaknesses in some SWOT examples:

1. Working too much at one time. I consider this a weakness, because if for example I have 10 reports that need to be done in 5 days time I will usually make 2 of them in the first 4 days and 8 in the last day. This will result in poorer quality work on the 8 reports.

2. Disorganization. Another weakness that can cause a lot of headaches most of all because of the fact that you will waste a lot of time looking for things that you misplaced and at the same time you will get frustrated when you don’t find them.

C. Opportunities – what specific resources do you think will help you or your company, develop in the long run; what business trends do you see in the future; what are the new technologies you think will be applicable in your domain in the future. In the following paragraphs I shall demonstrate the use of Opportunities in some SWOT examples:

1. Using the internet. Getting in touch with what the internet has to offer in any business is a great idea. You can find a new market for selling your product, you can get skilled freelancers to help you in specific areas of the work that you do.

2. Get connected. Keep track of all the new technologies that can help you make your work more efficient. Try to use all mediums that you can think of in order to obtain a helpful professional network.

D. Threats – what obstacles do you face in the work that you do; what is keeping you from getting a promotion; what other employees who have good qualifications are aiming for your job or for the job you want. In the following paragraphs I shall demonstrate the use of Threats in some SWOT examples:

1. Trying to impress my boss by putting in longer hours has the negative result of getting overworked and loosing part of my creativity.

2. One of my co-workers is angling for my job and will stop at nothing to discredit the work that I do and promote his. I need to prove my worth by not falling into this game of competition and continue doing my work at the best possible quality.

Of course there are many other examples I could give but I believe that these SWOT examples will be more than enough to get you started in creating your own assessments of yourself. There are many ways to do this, to see where you are now, and what your expectations for the future are, but my recommendations is to use the SWOT diagrams and not waste time by trying to come up with a better system. SWOT diagrams will prove more than enough, because they are very simple to use and user friendly. I strongly recommend them.