Leaders: Try Flipping the SWOT Analysis

Many of us are veterans of SWOT sessions, in which members of an organization sit in a conference room to brainstorm the organization’s “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.” This exercise is designed to produce a 2x2 diagram, with each quadrant compiling SWOT brainstormers’ thoughts about the internal factors (the strengths and weaknesses identified in the top two quadrants) and external forces (the opportunities and threats identified in the bottom two quadrants) affecting the organization’s path forward. Ideally, the SWOT team integrates the insights compiled in the four quadrants to produce specific recommendations that can be acted upon to make the organization more successful in its competitive ecosystem.

But – in your experience – how often has the SWOT process produced creative, focused and actionable initiatives? As the recent HBR article (“Are You Doing the SWOT Analysis Backward”) by Professors Minsky and Aron* highlights, the conventional way of undertaking this process often produces vague and unsatisfying results. This can stem from: (i) pursuing the process by starting with strengths and weaknesses; (ii) failing to be clear at the outset what constitutes a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat; and (iii) succumbing to the format of letter-sized 2x2s by compiling lists in each quadrant of single words and short phrases “because that’s all that can fit.” In addition – consistent with my personal experience as leader of a practice group in a major law firm – the participants’ fatigue, impatience or boredom with brainstorming can short-circuit the “second effort” needed to integrate the SWOT insights into simple sentences providing valuable, clear-cut and supported recommendations.

The authors don’t suggest jettisoning the SWOT tool. Instead, their powerful insight is to make the tool far more effective by flipping the order of the SWOT process. That is, start by considering the external factors (opportunities and threats), and then move to the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses). The validity of this approach is intuitive, compared with the alternative. To start with strengths and weaknesses puts the brainstormers in a bell jar, asking themselves with exasperation the question “…strengths and weaknesses in relation to WHAT?” By starting with opportunities and threats, the participants are in a position to identify with much greater particularity how the organization can capitalize on its strengths and address its weaknesses in order to seize the right opportunities and combat the most serious threats. With the implementation of specific actionable steps arising from the reordered process, the organization is in a much stronger position to achieve its mission and serve its customers and stakeholders.

*For the full text of the article, see my LinkedIn post at

"Snapshots," "Videos," and Coaching

We’ve all seen a snapshot in which we don’t look our best. Perhaps we release a sigh – or a stronger negative sentiment. The very nature of a snapshot is to freeze a moment in time, often with no hint of what happened before or after the snapshot was taken. By contrast, and unlike a snapshot, a video can reveal an unfolding story of events and emotions.

In many ways, our lives are like videos. Our circumstances are constantly changing; we respond, adapt or resist; and this all coalesces into a story line for our life. Our life videos are a warp-speed composite of our “snapshot” moments, variously exhilarating, mundane or embarrassing. Extracted from our life videos and looked at in isolation, a single snapshot can be instructive or misleading as to the overall trajectory of our lives.

From the snapshot album to the video screen

In coaching business leaders and executives, I find that clients sometimes focus on “snapshot” incidents in work or life in which they feel they didn’t show up at their best. For example, they’ve “lost it” at a team meeting, failed to be transparent with a struggling direct report, or held back from contributing a creative insight for the good of the enterprise.

In these situations, it’s often helpful to ask leaders to “play back” (in their minds and emotions) the “video” of their coaching journey. When leaders review their journey’s direction and progress, they can begin to make meaning of the snapshot incident in a broader context.

What can the coaching “video” reveal?

Playing back the video can bring new perspective that helps the leader chart the path forward, guided by the answers to the questions below:

• Is the incident related to an area of desired growth that the client is already addressing through coaching? If so, the video helps the client detect whether the incident is simply a temporary setback in progress – in effect, an aberration – or reveals new clues that spark new strategies. In the latter case, the client can extract new, additional learning from the incident, and move forward undiscouraged. Reviewing the video also provides an opportunity for the leader and coach to notice and celebrate the progress made to date.

• Is the incident of a type that hasn’t occurred previously or, on the other hand, does it seem to fit into an unexamined pattern in prior life and work? In either case, the video may suggest new areas to explore in the coaching – areas that can open up new momentum and freedom in work and life. In this case, reviewing the video leads to an invitation – to pause meaningfully, to understand the “why” of the incident, to reflect on how the incident was triggered, and to try alternative approaches when similar incidents arise in the future.

Writing the screenplay for an even-better video sequel

Coaching can keep business leaders from being hijacked by disappointing work/life snapshots. When these snapshots are considered in the broader context of the leader’s coaching video-to-date, the leader can more clearly discern whether the snapshot is a temporary distraction to shake off, or is a gateway to new and significant self-awareness. Either way, the leader is in a better position to write the screenplay for an even-better “sequel video” for the next chapter of work and life.

Why Business Leaders (and their Teams) Should Take Field Trips to the Art Museum

See my new post on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6393083576606351360

Going Into Your Burrow: Reflective or Reflexive?

Foxes and other savvy creatures make burrows to which they can retreat. These are cozy dens offering familiarity, safety and rest.

Many business leaders have places that are like burrows – whether in their homes, in their offices or elsewhere – to which they can retreat in times of challenge and stress at the workplace. Can such a retreat be helpful?  It depends.

The burrow can be an ideal location for the leader to reflect in productive ways. The quiet and lack of interruption – for appropriate periods of time – can allow the leader to gain perspective on a challenge, reframe a problem, consider fresh solutions or simply breathe deeply.

Alternatively, going into the burrow can be a reflex, rather than a fruitful reflective activity.  The burrow can be a default escape when workplace issues seem so complex that the leader feels out of his or her depth. A fear of being shown up by bosses or peers may cause the leader to burrow for long periods, seeking to become expert on every task for which his or her team is responsible, rather than deciding how best to marshal and apply the team’s talents. The ripple effect of this extended burrowing is missed deadlines and a lag in addressing the most pressing workplace issues. Indeed, the comfort of the burrow can give the illusion that these issues can simply be avoided or postponed.

So, if you’re a leader with a comfortable burrow, the next time you’re about to head into it, consider whether this is a reflective or reflexive maneuver. Ask yourself a few questions, such as:

• Is the burrowing time generally refreshing and a source of new clarity?

• Have some of your most effective solutions been produced in your burrowing time?

OR

• Is the burrowing time motivated by fear or avoidance? 

• Is the burrowing so extensive that your colleagues are commenting on your absences? Does burrowing make your personal or family time disappear?

• Would clearer communications with your team – instead of burrowing – let you trust their expertise and enable you to show up more effectively with your bosses and peers?

These questions can help you decide whether to burrow, and if so, for how long.

Don’t take a backhoe to your burrow – but when you’re about to enter it, pause by the entrance and consider whether the burrowing will advance your enterprise, your team and yourself.