SWOT analysis to boost profit

A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis is a tool commonly used in business and government as well as by some farmers and graziers to improve management and boost profit.

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It is commonly called a or SWOT analysis or just a SWOT, an abbreviation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis.

A SWOT analysis, involves looking at some aspect of your business, farming, life etc using a particular approach so that you can get a grip on how it is affected by its positives and negatives, in the present and the future.

In doing a SWOT, some people choose themselves or their business as the focus. Others choose the problem they are trying to deal with. It's horses for courses, only the person doing the analysis can decide which works best for them.

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For example, if you want to look at your business overall, it probably makes more sense to have the business as the focus for the SWOT analysis.

However, if you are having major problems with a particular pest and you just can't put your finger on why it is doing so well, it may make more sense to swap roles. Looking at things from the pest's point of view gives you a whole new picture of how things are set up for it and against you.

Just taking a different point of view - particularly the pest's point of view - can be enough to tip the scales your way. Then adding in a new tool such as SWOT analysis gives you more advantages. Any individual or species needs an advantage, even the farmer.

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The basic method involves choosing a perspective and then listing its
  1. strengths
  2. weaknesses
  3. the opportunities presented to it and
  4. the threats to it.

    Then go on to look at
  5. ways to build on strengths
  6. ways to take advantage of opportunities
  7. ways to reduce the effects of weaknesses, and finally
  8. ways to deflect or reduce the effects of threats.

Naturally you have to reverse the approach you take on those last four if you take a perspective opposed to yours. More of that in a moment.

So, going through the meaning of those first four steps:
  1. strengths refers to the positive abilities, advantages etc it has right now
  2. weaknesses refers to the limitations and disadvantages etc it has now
  3. opportunities presented to it include any situations that may happen in the future in which it has a chance to do well, better than another or to have any form of an advantage
  4. threats to it are those things that may happen in the future that could put it at a disadvantage, put it behind something else or cause it not to do too well or cause it not to do as well as it otherwise could.

    And the second set of four steps (remember to take the opposite - shown below in italics - if you have taken the pest's perspective or the perspective of any other competitor to your business):
  5. ways to build on strengths: How you or it can make best use of and extend any existing strengths, advantages etc (the reverse could be ways to undermine or reduce the effects of any strengths your opposition has)
  6. ways to take advantage of opportunities: How you or it can make best use of and extend any coming advantages etc (the reverse could be ways to undermine or reduce any advantages that may come up for your opposition)
  7. ways to reduce the effects of weaknesses: How you can minimize problems caused by any shortcomings that you have etc (the reverse could be ways to increase or extend any shortcomings your opposition has)
  8. ways to deflect or reduce the effects of threats: How you or it can make best use of and extend any existing strengths, advantages etc (the reverse could be ways to increase or extend any threats that could occur for your opposition)

The following tables give you some idea. The first explains what goes where, the second is a blank one. To see a completed SWOT exercise, see Using SWOT to beat a major weed

How some farmers do a SWOT analysis of a pest from the pest's point of view
  Strengths Weaknesses
C
u
r
r
e
n
t
Here you can list those things that at the moment give the pest its capacity to do well compared with your crop Here you can list those things that at the moment are limiting or could be limiting the pest's capacity to do well
Opportunities
Threats
F
u
t
u
r
e
Here you can list those things that in future could allow the pest to move forward compared to your crop Here you can list those things that in future could restrict the pest's ability to move forward compared to your crop
Positive
Negative


For an example of a such a table, filled in for what was one farmer's worst weed until he did this analysis and then followed up in the field, see Using SWOT to beat a major weed

And here is a blank of such a table, ready for you to fill in for your favorite pest or for a crop or enterprise or any life situation.

SWOT analysis of
  Strengths Weaknesses
C
u
r
r
e
n
t
 
 
 
 
 
   
Opportunities
Threats
F
u
t
u
r
e
 
 
 
 
 
   
Positive
Negative



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When you do a SWOT analysis, you can take the viewpoint or perspective of:
If one these viewpoints does not give you a suitable set of strategies, sometimes it is worth trying another viewpoint.


If you are looking at a printed version of this page and you would like to visit it on the internet and get a stack of other info that may assist you, the full web address is
http://www.OrganicExchange.com.au/all/fc912161.htm

Related info:

Using SWOT to beat a major weed

Learning from pests

Ground cover

Niche

Beat pests by using advantage

Do weeds come to heal the soil?

Understanding the causes of weed problems

Weed control without chemicals

Green manures

Selective grazing

Allelopathy

Green manures in orchards and vineyards

Choosing a farming course and teacher

Pasture legumes are special

Home Top What this means Using this Taking this further

Summary
SWOT analysis involves looking at some aspect of your business, farming, life etc using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats it is facing or may in future face. This allows you to get a grip on how it is and will be affected by its positives and negatives, in the present and the future.

In doing a SWOT, some people choose themselves or their business as the focus. Others choose the problem they are trying to deal with. Only the person doing the analysis can decide which works best for them. If you want to look at your business overall, it probably makes more sense to have the business as the focus for the SWOT analysis.

However, if you are having major problems with a pest and just can't put your finger on why it does so well, it may make sense to swap roles.

Looking at things from the pest's point of view gives you a whole new picture of how things are set up for it and against you. Just taking a different point of view - particularly the pest's - can be enough to tip the scales your way.


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This page was updated on December 27, 2007