1Strategic Purpose
I have a dream ...
Martin Luther King
The most widely used Strategy Tool in the world is the SWOT analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – and it has been so for 60 years. And yet many using it are disappointed with their results.
Why?
The problem is often that the SWOT analysis isn’t aimed at anything. It only works if you know where you are trying to go. As Lewis Carroll’s Alice asks the Cheshire Cat: “Would you please tell me which way to go from here?” To which the Cat replies: “That depends on where you want to get to.” Opportunities only have meaning if you know where you are going. Weaknesses are only strategic weaknesses if they make it difficult to achieve what you are striving for. Defining elements of SWOT without articulating your purpose is a pointless exercise. So without first articulating what your aim is, what purpose you are trying to achieve, or what winning looks like, a SWOT analysis can be time consuming, frustrating and ultimately unfruitful.
Knowing where to go is the point of Martin Luther King Jnr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which painted an aspirational picture of the aim of the American Civil Rights movement: a picture of a country living up to the creed of its founders (that all humans are created equal) and a nation enacting its better nature. It greatly helped his followers and his organisation, and inspired others around the world concentrating on civil rights to stay focused, see ...
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