SWOT can be relied as self guidance tool.

 

 

 

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is a planning method used by not only organizations worldwide but also individuals to identify internal and external factors that are both favorable and unfavorable to achieve certain objectives. 

 

Many people fail in certain tasks in life because they are unable to channel their strengths in the right direction. Often, people do not understand their strengths and weaknesses and blindly follow others. As a result, they lose direction in life and become frustrated. 

 

Just like how an organization manages to attain success when it leverages its strengths, individuals too need to understand their strengths and use them to their advantage. Everyone has weaknesses – no one is perfect. So, one should not be ashamed of his weaknesses – he should try to work on his weaknesses and turn them into strengths. 

 

For example, if your strength lies in communication, you should choose a career in journalism or human resources. Likewise, if you are good at Mathematics, you can aim to become a financial analyst or a statistician.

 

In India, we see a huge mismatch between the skills and interests of people and their careers. This is the reason why job hopping is common in India. When we understand our weaknesses, we will pay more attention to them in future and work towards reducing or eliminating them. For example, if you are unable to manage time well, then you can work on this by keeping a timetable and try completing work on time.

 

Strengths and weaknesses are pertinent to the individual whereas opportunities and threats are external factors. Just by understanding our strengths and weaknesses, we cannot be successful – we should also know how the environment is. If you are planning to start a company, you should be aware of the competition in the market. One should assess the opportunities and threats before plunging into the market.

 

For example, if you are planning to open a boutique, you need to ensure that there is a huge demand in the market for fashionable items. If there is less competition and huge demand, the probability of your boutique doing well will be high. On the other hand, if people around the boutique belong to low-income groups, then the probability of your success will be low. This is the reason why one should look into the opportunities and threats in the market before making decisions.

 

SWOT analysis is extremely important and it can help individuals in setting goals. In addition, it guides us in the right direction, be it in deciding our careers or life choices. By understanding our strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats around us, we will be able to make decisions without worrying about the consequences excessively.