Why I never use SWOT analysis

It is a too simple tool for such sophisticated tasks as strategy

It is a too simple tool for such sophisticated tasks as strategy

Once a prospect called me — a company needed assistance in devising a new strategy. A woman’s voice on the phone asked me whether I use SWOT analysis for my work. And when I answered “no”, she said: “Then you’ve got a chance to have a deal”.

So, what’s wrong with SWOT analysis?

A living fossil of strategic management, the SWOT analysis matrix is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s. So simple (as all 2*2 matrices) and clear, it became popular among strategists and top managers. I have seen teams using SWOT analysis for various purposes, not just strategic decision-making.

But this simplicity has a flip side — the one making this tool valueless.

If you have been living on Mars for last 40 years and never heard about SWOT analysis, it is a matrix in which we consider the strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) of an organization, as well as (O) opportunities and (T) thre…