If your SWOT analysis isn’t uncovering big opportunities, consider reversing it.
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The SWOT framework is often used as a diagnostic tool for a structured assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses relative to competitors and market forces. However, starting with Strengths and Weaknesses can narrow strategic thinking and constrain how teams perceive potential opportunities.
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An “Opportunity-First SWOT” broadens the team’s thinking.  By beginning with Opportunity, you are framing your team’s thinking around the forces that are shaping the market such as evolving consumer needs, emerging technologies, channel dynamics, and a changing competitive landscape, rather than being constrained by an inward, capabilities-first view that can limit how the team defines growth opportunities.  This outward orientation reframes strategy from “What are we good at?” to “Where can we create advantage?”
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Identifying Opportunities: Questions to Consider (Connect with me and send the message "Opportunity First SWOT" and I will send you a copy of the full approach)
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• Where are customer needs and expectations shifting faster than the industry is adapting?
• What adjacent or underserved segments could benefit from our capabilities in new ways?
• Are there emerging channels or retailer dynamics that open opportunities?
• How might emerging technologies alter cost structures, experiences, or access?
• Where are structural inefficiencies or frictions that could be reduced or eliminated?
• Which macroeconomic, policy, or cultural trends might reshape demand patterns?

Once the opportunity landscape is defined, internal dimensions become filters for clarity and prioritization:
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• Strengths as Enablers:  Which opportunities align with our differentiating capabilities, brand equity, or operational advantage?  Where do we hold the right to win or the ability to scale rapidly?
• Weaknesses as Constraints:  Which opportunities expose capability gaps, investment requirements, or executional challenges?  And which of those gaps are worth closing through partnership, acquisition, or internal development?

This approach transforms SWOT from a static assessment into a strategic decision framework that connects external potential with internal readiness.

Connect with me and send the message "Opportunity First SWOT" and I will send you a copy of the full approach

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