Congratulations! Now that you have reached the end of the book, you are ready to embark on a new journey; the journey for realising your dreams. The first step towards this new journey is to do a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The analysis of these four factors is the first stage of the planning procedure.

Among these four factors, Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors. For example,

Strengths could be:

• a new, innovative idea

• the quality of the in-clinic performance

• any other aspect of your personality that adds value to you, say assertiveness.

Weaknesses could be:

• the lack of managerial experience

• poor communication skills

• the poor quality of your team members

• the damaged reputation of yourself or of the organisation.

As against Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are external factors. For example,

Opportunities could be:

• a developing market for your product range

• moving into new market segments that offer improved profits

• a market vacated by an ineffective competitor (product or organisation).

Threats could be:

• a new competitor in your market

• price wars with competitors

• that a competitor has a new or innovative product or service

• competitors have better access to distribution channels.

Using the SWOT Analysis Successfully

• Be specific and realistic about your strengths and weaknesses.

• The analysis should distinguish between where you are today, and where you want to be in the future.

• The analysis should take into account your competitors, i.e. are you better off or worse than your competitors?

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