Tool no. 31 - A More Positive SWOT Analysis

This may enable users to discover ideas that may otherwise be overshadowed by fear or antipathy

The Tool's Purpose

• SWOT analysis is a much-used (and helpful) tool but it can precipitate a negative mindset.
• It is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
• If people perceive something as a danger or threat (rather than a useful challenge) their blood vessels etc. contract.
• This physiological change is likely to impede their ability to think in a constructive and affirmative way.
• We wanted to create a tool that offers a more creative and opportunistic frame of reference
• If successful, users would find themselves occupying a more serendipitous space of conjecture
• This does not mean that 'Threats' or 'Weaknesses' do not exist.
• Our tool is not a panacea for every situation - more for the creative aspects
• Others have found it practically helpful and enjoyable to use

The Tool's Process

• An alternative to SWOT is POUT
• Each letter has an alternative meaning

P	O	U	T
Please define your PREDICAMENT	Pick out the hidden OPPORTUNITIES	Specify aspects that are UNNOTICED	Specify small action/s that might TRIGGER IMPROVEMENT
P	O	U	T
Re-think it as a POTENTIAL	Specify your ideal OUTCOME	Specify action/s that are UNNAMEABLE	Specify adjustments that are TRANSFORMATIVE

• There are also alternative ways to arrange these four letters,
• Its use is straightforward and needs little expert introduction
• Context/conditions for use

An Example

• POUT can be mapped within a quadrant, using 2 (X-Y) axes
• The values of the X axis can be made to correspond to Left=evaluative and Right=creative
• The values of the right axis can be made to denote Bottom=ambiguous values and Top=explicit values
• This equates it with our system of 'working styles, i.e. where:

P=Envisioning
O=Pushing-Doing
U=New Knowing
T=Languaging

The Tool's Context

• The business world has tended to work within a post-Spenserian frame of reference
• This has encouraged a metaphorical repertoire that emphasises 'competition', 'power' and 'winning'
• But more recent evolutionary theory (e.g. Margulis, *) has shown that this is a costly approach
• The quest for synergies that optimise the use of resources is much-needed in the 21st century

Provenance

• This tool is inpired by the SWOT tool that is extant in the business community.
• SWOT was created by Albert Humphrey when working at the Stanford Research Institute.
• The SWOT acronym means - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
• John had the idea of replacing the 2 negatives (Weaknesses and Threats) with positives.
• Hannah's joke inspired the acronym 'POUT'
• See the Blindspotting Analysis Tool by James Greyson

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