Starting Your SWOT Analysis
When responding to opportunities and threats in your environment, you need to react proactively rather than reactively. Being ready for the what ifs can help you determine your strategic position. Figure 10-2 illustrates how these elements fit into your SWOT (also covered in Chapters 7 and 8).
You need to take a quick pulse of your company's opportunities and threats to assess your external situation. To do so, investigate the various areas listed in Figure 10-2 to get more specific about what's happening in your operating environment.
Don't forget to ask for help — getting objective input from others helps you see parts you may have missed. The section “Finishing Your SWOT Analysis” later in this chapter gives you ideas about how to proceed, too. Use the Operating Environment Questionnaire and the Industry Environment Questionnaire on the CD to get your own list started.
Figure 10-2: SWOT Analysis: Determining your strategic position by evaluating your external opportunities and threats.
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