Recently I came across a research done back in 1997 that empirically proved that SWOT does not work! It seems that SWOT is promoted as a must-use business tool in any MBA program, and numerous consultants are happy to sell it and its derivatives, but the benefit for the real business is questionable. I shared the results of the research and some thoughts on the topic in the new article and this presentation: http://www.bscdesigner.com/swot-outside-mba-classrooms.htm What do you think about SWOT? It is a must-have business tool or it is more an exercise for MBA students?

1. IS THERE ANY BENEFIT OF
SWOT OUTSIDE MBA
CLASSROOMS?
Based on
http://www.bscdesigner.com/swot-outside-mba-classrooms.htm
By Aleksey Savkin

2. BSC DESIGNER
BSC STRATEGY MAP NEEDS AN INPUT
• How are we supposed to get this input?

3. BSC DESIGNER
BSC’ STRATEGY MAP NEEDS AN INPUT
• How are we supposed to get this input?
• How can one come up with a strategy?

4. BSC DESIGNER
BSC’ STRATEGY MAP NEEDS AN INPUT
• How are we supposed to get this input?
• How can one come up with a strategy?
• One of the business frameworks is SWOT analysis.

5. BSC DESIGNER
Is there any benefit of SWOT outside MBA classrooms?
Source: www.bscdesigner.com

6. BSC DESIGNER
Is there any benefit of SWOT outside MBA classrooms?
The best business insights are rather
spontaneous breakthroughs based on
the experience of my team.
Source: www.bscdesigner.com

7. BSC DESIGNER
Use SWOT analysis! It allows me
to sell consulting services to any
company without any learning of
its products and service.
Is there any benefit of SWOT outside MBA classrooms?
The best business insights are rather
spontaneous breakthroughs based on
the experience of my team.
Source: www.bscdesigner.com
So
what?

8. BSC DESIGNER
Use SWOT analysis! It allows me
to sell consulting services to any
company without any learning of
its products and service.
Is there any benefit of SWOT outside MBA classrooms?
The best business insights are rather
spontaneous breakthroughs based on
the experience of my team.
Source: www.bscdesigner.com
SWOT!
So what?

9. SWOT AND ITS MODIFICATIONS

10. BSC DESIGNER
THE VISUAL RERESENTAION OF SWOT
ANALYSIS
The SWOT acronym stands for :

11. BSC DESIGNER
THE VISUAL RERESENTAION OF SWOT
ANALYSIS
Strengths and weaknesses are considered to be “internal,”

12. BSC DESIGNER
THE VISUAL RERESENTAION OF SWOT
ANALYSIS
Strengths and weaknesses are considered to be “internal,”
while opportunities and threats are “external.”

13. BSC DESIGNER
TOWS - A DIFFERENT WAY TO PRESENT
A different acronym of the same words
- threats, opportunities, weaknesses, and strengths

14. BAD NEWS. SWOT DOSEN’T WORK

15. BAD NEWS. SWOT DOSEN’T WORK
• At least not in a real business environment.

16. BAD NEWS. SWOT DOSEN’T WORK
• At least not in a real business environment.
• Authors of the research ”SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a
Product Recall” investigated SWOT empirically.

17. BAD NEWS. SWOT DOSEN’T WORK
• At least not in a real business environment.
• Authors of the research ”SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a
Product Recall” investigated SWOT empirically.
• They interviewed executives of 20 UK manufacturing
companies that used SWOT.

18. BSC DESIGNER
THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH
• SWOT analysis typically helped to generate a long list
of various factors

19. BSC DESIGNER
THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH
• SWOT analysis typically helped to generate a long list
of various factors
• These factors in most cases were meaningless for a
business

20. BSC DESIGNER
THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH
• SWOT analysis typically helped to generate a long list
of various factors
• These factors in most cases were meaningless for a
business
• Found factors were neither prioritized nor verified

21. BSC DESIGNER
THE MAIN CONSEQUENCE
• None of these companies used the outputs for a
future strategy design
• 20 UK manufacturing companies is obviously not
a representative sample

22. BSC DESIGNER
A CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH
• Executives could not truthfully say that

23. BSC DESIGNER
A CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH
• Executives could not truthfully say that
• They were not influenced in any way by the results of
the SWOT-based brainstorming

24. BSC DESIGNER
A CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH
• If you will read an original article

25. BSC DESIGNER
A CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH
• If you will read an original article
• You will agree that something is wrong with SWOT

26. BSC DESIGNER
A CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH
• If you will read an original article
• You will agree that something is wrong with SWOT
• It is not a magic pill like it is promoted by strategy
consultants

27. WHY IS SWOT SO POPULAR THEN?

28. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• The results of SWOT analysis for virtually any
company from the Fortune 500 list

29. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• The results of SWOT analysis for virtually any
company from the Fortune 500 list
• These reports were not prepared by the company’s
executives

30. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• The results of SWOT analysis for virtually any
company from the Fortune 500 list
• These reports were not prepared by the company’s
executives
• They have nothing to do with an actual strategy
design process

31. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• In most cases these reports work as front-end
products

32. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• In most cases these reports work as front-end
products
• They are supposed to attract the attention of
prospects to some consulting business.

33. BSC DESIGNER
INFO-PRODUCTS ON SWOT
• In most cases these reports work as front-end
products
• They are supposed to attract the attention of
prospects to some consulting business.
• Consulting boutiques are the biggest beneficiaries of
the SWOT magic pill

34. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT AS A MAGIC PILLS FROM
CONSULTANTS
• SWOT analysis allows them to sell consulting services
to any company without a deep learning of its
products and service.

35. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT AS A MAGIC PILLS FROM
CONSULTANTS
• SWOT analysis allows them to sell consulting services
to any company without a deep learning of its
products and service.
• Consultants can focus on asking “right” questions
and generating long lists of factors and ideas.

36. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT IN MBA CLASSROOMS
• SWOT analysis is popular in MBA classrooms

37. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT IN MBA CLASSROOMS
• SWOT analysis is popular in MBA classrooms
• Lectures pay too much attention to SWOT in the
classroom

38. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT IN MBA CLASSROOMS
• SWOT analysis is popular in MBA classrooms
• Lectures pay too much attention to SWOT in the
classroom
• A result managers see SWOT as a panacea to any
business problem

39. SWOT FROM INPUTS TO THE
RESULTS

40. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT INPUTS
• It assumes that the business situation is stable
enough

41. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT INPUTS
• It assumes that the business situation is stable
enough
• Another assumption is that inputs are supposed to
appear during the brainstorming

42. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT PROCESS
• The SWOT analysis cannot be underestimated as a
brainstorming method

43. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT PROCESS
• The SWOT analysis cannot be underestimated as a
brainstorming method
• SWOT doesn’t give us any method to make an
informed assumption

44. BSC DESIGNER
SWOT OUTPUT
• As any brainstorming method, SWOT generates a list
of ideas.
• Another problem with SWOT outputs is that the
resulting ideas are given in a list.

45. BSC DESIGNER
AUTOMATION OF SWOT
• There is no need for an automation of SWOT.

46. BSC DESIGNER
AUTOMATION OF SWOT
• There is no need for an automation of SWOT.
• Using paper and pen to put down ideas that come up
brainstorming

47. BSC DESIGNER
AUTOMATION OF SWOT
• There is no need for an automation of SWOT.
• Using paper and pen to put down ideas that come up
brainstorming
• Users of BSC Designer can apply ”Framework – SWOT
and TOWS.bsc” from “Sample Scorecards” folder of
BSC Designer installation to support their SWOT
analysis.

48. BSC DESIGNER
AUTOMATION OF SWOT
Find this project in “Sample Scorecards”
folder of BSC Designer installation.

49. TWO MAJOR FLAWS OF SWOT

50. BSC DESIGNER
TWO MAJOR FLAWS OF SWOT
• Two words “customers” and “education.”

51. BSC DESIGNER
TWO MAJOR FLAWS OF SWOT
• Customer is not directly involved in this framework

52. BSC DESIGNER
TWO MAJOR FLAWS OF SWOT
• Customer is not directly involved in this framework
• Education is a big deal of finding and “seeing” these
opportunities

53. BSC DESIGNER
TWO MAJOR FLAWS OF SWOT
• Customer is not directly involved in this framework
• Education is a big deal of finding and “seeing” these
opportunities
• This process should be run even before getting the
team to brainstorm any ideas.

54. A BOTTOM LINE

55. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• The obvious benefit is that SWOT gives another
perspectives to see the business and
its environment.

56. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• The obvious benefit is that SWOT gives another
perspectives to see the business and
its environment.
• This perspective works great for
academic exercises in MBA classrooms,

57. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• The obvious benefit is that SWOT gives another
perspectives to see the business and
its environment.
• This perspective works great for
academic exercises in MBA classrooms,
• but cannot help much with finding a better strategy
in complex and uncertain real-life situations that
business faces every day.

58. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT analysis depends a lot on the experience of
the team that is using it.

59. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT analysis depends a lot on the experience of
the team that is using it.
• The framework provides a different perspective,

60. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT analysis depends a lot on the experience of
the team that is using it.
• The framework provides a different perspective,
• but at the same time it shifts the focus from a
customer.

61. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• The list of generated findings could have been much
more useful if these insights could be linked to each
other by cause-and-effect connections.

62. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT is a main academic tool used in the quest for a
good strategy.

63. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT is a main academic tool used in the quest for a
good strategy.
• Executives will continue to use the method even
if empirical evidence shows that it is not working.

64. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• SWOT is a main academic tool used in the quest for a
good strategy.
• Executives will continue to use the method even
if empirical evidence shows that it is not working.
• Hopefully, in good hands this business framework
will generate some valuable insights.

65. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• What is your experience with SWOT?

66. BSC DESIGNER
A BOTTOM LINE
• What is your experience with SWOT?
• How did it help you with strategy planning?

67. BSC DESIGNER
• [1] “SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a
Product Recall” Roy Westbrook,
Terry Hill (1997) Long Range
Planning, 30 (1).
• [2] “Stop SWOT’ing The Small Stuff”
Dave Lavinsky, 2013, Forbes
• [3] “Marketing Myopia” Theodore
Levitt, 1960, Harvard Business
Review.
RESOURCES

68. BSC DESIGNER
MORE ABOUT THE BALANCED SCORECARD
Find more insightful
articles about the
Balanced Scorecard
in ”Articles” section at
www.bscdesigner.com
BSC DESIGNER

69. BSC DESIGNER
THANK YOU!
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www.bscdesigner.com