Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Examining Your Resources

After your capabilities are sufficiently understood, the next step in the SWOT process is looking at your resources. (Refer to your SWOT analysis if needed.) Resources are tangible assets — any physical or quantifiable assets that your organization uses to bring revenue into your business. Some assets, such as your brand, are intangible but still have a quantifiable value to your company, just like your long-standing customer relationships.

From a strategic perspective, you need to look at what tangible assets you have versus what you need to achieve your strategic plan. You may need to come back to this section after you've developed more of your plan. But taking stock of where you are now can be helpful in your planning process. Specifically, you need to look at the following:

• What tangible assets you have in your company right now that allow you to produce your product or service
• What tangible assets you need to continue to provide and exceed your current service levels

Create a page titled “Resources.” List the assets you have (strengths), the assets you need (weaknesses), and the assets you desire. Consider coming back to this page when you're further along in your plan development.

To help identify your business resources, group them under the following categories:

• Financial resources: These resources include all the items available to finance ...