SWOT: Tackle the Biggest Problem First
Successful executives have learned to tackle the biggest issue early in the day, and deal with lesser priorities as time permits. That approach also works well for the senior leadership team (SLT) in looking at the problems and opportunities facing the organization.
However, it’s not always easy for the SLT to distinguish between immediate and the long-term needs. In the rush of daily activity, it’s easy for those longer-term priorities to be placed on the back burner. But to be successful over the long run, organizations need to keep moving forward by first tackling their biggest problems and opportunities.
A solid methodology for determining organizational priorities is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis conducted on a regular basis. That evaluation should help the SLT identify the most important mid- to long-term issues facing the organization, and develop an action plan to address them.
For example, a market-leading U.S. company might face pricing pressures from lower-cost competitors. To respond to that threat, the SLT has a number of different strategic options, such as cutting overhead costs to reduce its pricing structure, selling to customers who are willing to pay more for perceived higher quality, introducing a lower-priced secondary brand or acquiring a competitor.
The SLT is likely to have a similar range of options when looking at new opportunities in the market, such as introducing a new line of products or services, expanding to different geographic regions or becoming a “player” in a new vertical industry, such as healthcare or finance.
Since strategies based on a SWOT analysis are unlikely to produce results overnight, the SLT needs to maintain its focus on organization’s priorities, despite the distractions of the daily issues. One suggestion is to hold a brief meeting each Monday morning to review the SWOT-based plan, determine what each executive needs to do that week and review the activities of the prior week.
These strategies provide both clear direction and accountability for the senior leadership team, in order to ensure that they address the biggest problems—and opportunities—facing the organization.
