Sample SWOT Analysis:
Although SWOT Analysis is quite an easy tool to use for part of the Strategic Planning, it could lead to wrong conclusion if not done properly. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when you perform a SWOT Analysis. Although the mistakes in SWOT Analysis are common, it can be avoided to safe time and sometimes frustration among team members.

Over the 10 years of conducting SWOT Analysis workshops, training and self analysis, I have discovered these common SWOT Analysis mistakes derived from various causes. Below are sample of the common SWOT Analysis mistakes:-

For SWOT Factor – Strengths
This is the Strengths is an Internal factor and is involved your own organization or your own operation or department. Due to this generic definition, a normal response is to list all the strengths.

One common mistake for the Strengths, it is not evaluated against your competitors. If you fail to do so, then the Strengths will not help your organization to bring in more revenue or compete with your competitors. Hence, it has no impact to the organization in terms of competitiveness.

For SWOT Factor – Weaknesses
This is another Internal Factors involved your own organization or your own operation or department. There may be many issues deem to be weak in your organization perhaps pertaining to non-fulfillment of certain promises internal. At this point, there are time team member focused on departmental weaknesses.

One common mistake is team members avoid to raise issue that did not fulfill the requirement of customer satisfaction which may be policy related or involved certain people.

The SWOT Factor – Opportunities
This is an External Factors which deal with issues beyond the control of an organization. It may involve economy, government policies, currency etc. Due to the fact it is external factor, team members tends to overlook issues in this factors. Another influential factor is Opportunities are not realized yet.

One common mistake in this Opportunities is team members tends to take an intention for improvement to an internal weaknesses as an Opportunities. Example: Instead of recognizing losing talented employee as s, you take an action for “Talent Acquisition” as an Opportunities. Another example is instead of recognize “high reject in a production line” as a weakness, it is taken as an Opportunities to Improve Productivity

The SWOT Factor – Threats
This is an External factor deal with events that may cause lose of business, customer or market share. This is one factor that highlights. Team member may identify potential lose of customer due to performance gap exist in own organization as a Threats.

One common mistake in the Threats of team members failed to recognize a long term detrimental effect of certain events e.g. Change of Government policy or technology, product substitution etc.

All the above sample mistakes in SWOT Analysis can be avoided should you study enough samples of SWOT Analysis from other organizations. Proper training to the SWOT Analysis is a good way to align each others understanding in the application of SWOT Analysis, its template and example. The objective to strike an alignment is to ensure strategies formulated has impact to the organization