How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 527

necessary.
Executive question: "Are
we properly informed and
organized to deal with
these issues, and are we
certain there are no
hidden surprises?" - and "Since we are strong here,
can any of these threats be
turned into
opportunities?"

plan to defend/avert in very
specific controlled ways.
Executive question: "Have
we accurately assessed the
risks of these issues, and
where the risks are high do
we have specific controlled
reliable plans to
avoid/avert/defend?"

N.B. SWOT analysis is a very flexible tool. Its use is not restricted to
business and marketing. Be mindful that when SWOT is used in
situations outside of business and marketing, strict categorization of the
SWOT dimensions (according to 'internal' and 'external' factors) can be
limiting, and so a more open interpretation of the model can be helpful
in such circumstances, especially when assessing Opportunities and
Threats.
Also be mindful that if using the SWOT analysis model only as a 2x2
matrix, which assumes the categorization of internal and external
factors (and notably limiting the assessment of threats and
opportunities to external factors only), that it is very easy then to miss
certain threats and opportunities that can exist (internally) within the
company/organization. Some internal threats and opportunities can be
substantial, for example, opportunities such as: energy-saving, processimprovement, training, advertising, or discontinuing loss-making
products, or threats such as: desertion or key staff, the loss of major
contracts, to name just a couple of typically ever-present threats within
large commercial corporations.
Be mindful therefore that the 'simplified' SWOT 2x2 matrix
'internal/external' method is not a reliable tool alone for identifying all

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