Purpose
Produce a decision-grade SWOT analysis that goes beyond a four-box brainstorm — each factor is evidenced, the top factors are prioritised by impact and likelihood, and the whole thing is synthesised into concrete strategic options through a TOWS matrix. Solves the common failure mode where SWOT becomes an unranked list nobody can act on.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Run a SWOT analysis for a company, business unit, product line, or market
- Prepare a strategic review or annual planning input
- Assess competitive position before a launch, expansion, or investment decision
- Build the situation-analysis section of a board deck or strategy document
- Turn a list of strengths and weaknesses into actual strategic recommendations
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Subject of analysis: The specific company, business unit, product, or brand being assessed
- Industry and market: Sector, geography, and stage (growth / mature / declining)
- Strategic question: The decision or goal this SWOT informs (e.g., enter a new market, defend share, cut costs)
- Key competitors: 2-4 named rivals or the competitive set
- Known facts: Any metrics, recent events, or constraints the user already has (revenue trend, market share, capabilities, cash position)
- Time horizon: The planning window (e.g., next 12 months, 3 years)
- Internal vs. external clarity: Whether the user wants an inward diagnostic or a market-facing positioning view
If competitor or metric detail is missing, proceed with clearly-labelled reasonable assumptions and flag them as items to validate.
Instructions
Step 1: Frame the Analysis
Anchor the entire SWOT to the strategic question, not to the company in general. Restate the decision in one sentence. Every factor generated later must be judged by whether it matters to that decision. Distinguish clearly:
- Internal factors (Strengths, Weaknesses): capabilities, assets, and gaps the organisation controls
- External factors (Opportunities, Threats): market, competitive, regulatory, and macro forces the organisation does not control
Step 2: Generate the Four Quadrants (5-8 factors each)
For each factor, write a specific, evidenced statement — not a one-word label. Use the format: claim → why it matters → evidence or assumption.
Strengths (5-8) — Internal advantages relative to competitors
- Must be genuine differentiators, not table stakes ("we have a website" is not a strength)
- Tie each to a source: brand, cost position, IP, distribution, talent, data, scale, relationships
- State the comparison: strong relative to whom
Weaknesses (5-8) — Internal gaps relative to competitors or requirements
- Include capability gaps, structural disadvantages, resource constraints, and dependencies
- Be candid — a SWOT with soft weaknesses is worthless
- Flag which weaknesses are fixable short-term vs. structural
Opportunities (5-8) — External conditions the organisation could exploit
- Draw from market trends, unmet needs, competitor missteps, regulatory shifts, adjacent markets, technology change
- Each opportunity must be actionable given the organisation's actual capabilities
Threats (5-8) — External forces that could damage the position
- Cover competitive moves, substitutes, buyer/supplier power shifts, regulation, macro and technology disruption
- Include slow-burn threats, not just acute ones
Step 3: Prioritise the Top Factors
Rank factors so leaders know where to focus. For the strongest factors across all quadrants, score each on:
- Impact: High / Medium / Low — magnitude of effect on the strategic goal
- Likelihood / Certainty: High / Medium / Low — for opportunities and threats, probability; for strengths and weaknesses, how confident and durable Present a prioritised shortlist of the top 3 factors per quadrant (12 total), ordered by combined impact and likelihood. These are what the strategy must respond to.
Step 4: TOWS Synthesis — Convert to Strategic Options
Cross the prioritised factors to produce four option sets. Generate 2-3 concrete strategic moves per cell:
- SO (Strengths × Opportunities) — Attack: Use strengths to seize opportunities
- ST (Strengths × Threats) — Defend: Use strengths to neutralise threats
- WO (Weaknesses × Opportunities) — Build: Fix weaknesses to unlock opportunities
- WT (Weaknesses × Threats) — Avoid/Mitigate: Reduce weaknesses to survive threats
Each move must name the specific factors it connects and describe an action, not a platitude.
Step 5: Strategic Implications and Recommendation
Close with a synthesis: the 2-3 most important things this analysis reveals about the strategic question, and one clearly-stated recommended direction with rationale. Be opinionated. Note the top assumptions that should be validated before committing.
Output Format
- Structure: Framing statement → four quadrant lists → prioritisation table → TOWS matrix (4 cells) → strategic implications and recommendation
- Length: 1,000-1,400 words
- Format: Quadrants as evidenced bullet lists; prioritisation as a table (Factor / Quadrant / Impact / Likelihood); TOWS as four labelled sections
- Sections: Strategic Question → Strengths → Weaknesses → Opportunities → Threats → Prioritised Top Factors → TOWS Strategic Options → Strategic Implications & Recommendation
- Tone: Strategy consultant — analytical, candid, decision-oriented; no filler, no false balance
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Each quadrant has 5-8 factors — count them
- [ ] Every factor is a full evidenced statement, not a one-word label
- [ ] Strengths and weaknesses are stated relative to competitors or requirements, not in isolation
- [ ] The prioritisation table scores impact and likelihood for the top 3 factors per quadrant (12 total)
- [ ] The TOWS matrix produces at least 2 concrete moves per cell, each naming specific factors
- [ ] A single recommended direction is stated with rationale — not a hedge
- [ ] Every assumption made in place of missing data is explicitly flagged
Notes
- The most common weakness in real SWOTs is soft self-assessment — push for candour on weaknesses and threats, as those drive the WT and WO strategies that matter most
- If the strategic question is vague, the whole analysis drifts; nail it down in Step 1 before generating factors
- The TOWS synthesis is where a SWOT earns its keep — a four-box list without it is diagnosis without prescription
- For competitive assessments, pair strengths and weaknesses against the named competitor set rather than an abstract ideal
How to use this skill
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