Official skill · Strategy

SWOT and TOWS analysis

v1.0.0 · Updated 4 November 2026

Builds an evidence-backed SWOT, external factors first, then pairs the items into SO, WO, ST, and WT strategies and picks 3 to 5 with owners, first steps, and dates. Use it when before a planning cycle, offsite, or board meeting.

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When to use it

Before a planning cycle, offsite, or board meeting
When an earlier SWOT led to no action
When a market change needs a structured response

What you give it

The unit, the decision, and the horizon
Named competitors
Facts and sources for each item
Who can own actions

What you get

A SWOT with evidence per item, a TOWS matrix with SO/WO/ST/WT strategies tied to item pairs, chosen strategies with owners, first steps, dates, and measures, and a review date.

How it works

Frame the analysis One line: the unit, the decision, the horizon, the competitors. Without a decision, a SWOT has no way to rank anything.
List opportunities and threats first Weihrich's process starts with the external environment. Opportunities and threats are outside the company's control: customer demand, competitors' moves, technology, regulation, the economy. Each item gets its evidence and source. Write the condition, not the move: "studios outside Japan are asking for Japanese releases" is an opportunity; "launch a Japanese service" is a strategy and belongs later.
List strengths and weaknesses against the competitors Internal items only: what the company has or does, compared with the named rivals. "Experienced team" is not a strength unless rivals' teams are weaker; say how. Each item gets evidence. Keep internal and external apart: a strength filed as an opportunity breaks the pairing.
Cut to what matters Keep at most 5 items per quadrant, ranked by effect on the decision. Number them (S1, W1, O1, T1). Move items with no evidence to "To check" rather than keeping them silently.
Pair items into TOWS strategies For each quadrant, write 1 to 3 strategies, each naming the items it combines: - **SO:** use S to take O. - **WO:** fix or work around W to take O (build, hire, partner, buy). - **ST:** use S to reduce T. Weihrich warns that meeting a threat head-on from strength can backfire; choose the response with care. - **WT:** defensive moves where weakness meets threat: shrink exposure, exit, partner, or fix.
Choose Pick 3 to 5 strategies to act on, and say why these and not the others: size of the effect, cost, time, and fit with the decision. Name what is explicitly not being done.
Make each chosen strategy actionable Owner, first step, date, and the measure that will show whether it works.
Set the review External items change. Weihrich suggested drawing the matrix again at later points in time; set a date or trigger for the next one, and list which items are most likely to move.

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