Let me tell you a story about someone I knew.
She was a single mother with four kids in daycare, an out-of-work partner, a very tenuous job situation, a boss that hated her and she didn’t have the money for a week in summer camp for one kid let alone a down payment for the house she wanted to purchase. Those were her weaknesses. Those were my weaknesses. That person was me. What were my strengths? I was making a good salary and had an aggressive loan broker recommended by a colleague. She said she only “claimed” $25,000 a year in income and that if he could get her a $1,000,000 house in Los Angeles then he could get anyone a loan, even me with a zero down payment. And he did! I got a first and a second for the down payment. In hindsight, I suppose I was one of those “sub-prime borrowers” that ultimately contributed to the crash of the economy. But I’m happy to say it worked out well for me (and my bank). My weakness: not having money for a down payment. My strengths: my network of colleagues, the loan broker, my high-paying job. What I achieved: I bought my house. This is Part 2 of my original article, “You Should Know How To Do A S.W.O.T. Analysis,” published in Medium, October 3rd. As a part of that article, you might remember that to do your S.W.O.T. Analysis, you should start with what you want to achieve. I want to sell 100,001 books in one year’s time. Last month I covered the O.T. part of S.W.O.T., Opportunities and Strengths. This article focuses on S.W. or Strengths and Weaknesses. Strengths As I continue on in my career journey, I am reminded more and more how much of my success is based on just believing in myself and not taking no for an answer. And isn’t that really about recognizing my shortcomings and figuring out how to fix them, go around them, over them or through them? Or looking at my strengths, owning them, and using them to achieve what I want to achieve? Let’s start with owning your strengths. If someone asked me if I was a good writer a year ago, I probably would have said no. Wait. I am a published author of five books with Random House Children’s Books. Of course I’m a good writer. In my defense, maybe I denied that because I was turned down a million times. Okay, not really a million, but it felt that way. One of the things we did in our first meeting of our Masterminds (see Part 1 of my S.W.O.T. Analysis article), was to write down fifty things we do well… your strengths. If you’ve never done that, it’s a worthwhile exercise and can be quite revealing. It’s based on a business school idea that if you want to come up with a winning vision strategy, you should start with something you do well, because you will probably enjoy doing that. Furthermore, why start from ground zero? If you are focusing on something you already do well, you will come up to speed much more quickly and therefore reach a level of success much faster. It has to be at least fifty. Why? Because anything less just isn’t enough. You have to trust me on this. The interesting thing about this assignment is that initially people protest that there is no way they can come up with fifty things. I always have to reassure them that they can and if they come up short they can always put down that they are a good parent or child or sibling. People usually think of skills and don’t really think about personality strengths. Are you optimistic? Outgoing? Empathetic? Organized? Those are all strengths. I had more than one younger woman list that they were a good dishwasher loader. Okay, it’s the small victories. Go ahead and list them. Finally, narrow down your strengths to those that are relevant to what you are trying to achieve. For me, it was to sell 100,001 books. 1. I am a good writer 2. I am disciplined 3. I am not afraid to ask for what I want 4. I am an extrovert 5. I am good at technology 6. I am relentless 7. I have a good network of friends and family 8. I already have a licensee I’m working with who manufactures my gardening products 9. I like to travel and I am in a position to do so How do I leverage my strengths: 1. Keep writing. Keep creating content. Use this in marketing. 2. Come up with goals and work at them diligently every day. 3. Ask my publisher for help. Ask my followers for help. Ask friends for introductions. 4. Plan and go on a book tour. 5. Launch my website, develop email marketing campaigns, social media, little videos, etc., to increase my engagement. Weaknesses It is important to recognize our weaknesses because if we’re going to improve, we need to overcome or work around them. Paradoxically, I think that weaknesses are easier for people to list. Most of us are hard on ourselves. However, some of us are in denial or simply haven’t yet recognized what our weaknesses are. Many of us, myself included, aren’t adept at honestly evaluating ourselves. Here are some helpful suggestions: 1. Talk to someone who knows you well, whose opinion you trust. Ask them what they think your weaknesses are. Buy them a cup of coffee and tell them you’re doing a S.W.O.T. analysis. Ask your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, mother or mentor. I asked my daughter. That was the motherload (pun intended) of information. It amazes me that most people have never asked their own children how they are doing or how they did. When whoever you’re asking tells you, don’t be defensive. Listen. Take notes. Remember, they’re taking time out of their day to help you. You may not agree with everything they say, but if everyone is saying the same thing, then you’ve probably got a legitimate weakness on your hands. 2. Another thing I recommend is evaluating what part of your job or daily routine you don’t like. What tasks drain you? Those are probably your weaknesses. 3. Take a test. There are many personality tests out there. Myers Briggs is well-known. They can tell you what your weaknesses are. 4. Self-evaluate. Identify negative patterns in your life and ascribe what weaknesses may be contributing them. You’re don’t finish what you start. Why do you think you do that? 5. Therapy. Find a good licensed therapist. After making notes, observations and evaluations sit down and make a list of your weaknesses. Edit it to reflect the things that have relevancy to the goal you are trying to achieve. Ultimately, more important than the specific ways to overcome your weaknesses is the idea that you CAN overcome or work around any weakness you acknowledge. This is not an exercise that is meant to bring you down. Everyone has weaknesses. It shows strength that you are able to look honestly at your situation and then think of ways to improve upon it. What are the best ways to overcome your weaknesses? Education, research, practice, affirmations, trying anyway, using a partner who already possesses the skill, hiring someone, subcontracting tasks to outsiders. There’s always a way. Always. In regards to my goal, (selling 100.001 books) these are my weaknesses as I see them: 1. I get easily distracted. 2. I am impatient. 3. I don’t have a lot of followers. 4. I am not good at prioritizing. 5. These are my first books — I don’t have a track record or a reputation. 6. I am uncomfortable in front of the camera. 7. I don’t consider myself good at marketing. 8. I don’t have the time to do everything I need to do. Overcoming my weaknesses: 1. Daily to-do lists. Pick the top six things I need to do every day to move me closer to my goal of selling 100,001 books. This helps me to keep focused and to prioritize. 2. Build followers. Spend more time on social media. Have contests. BECOME RELEVANT. 3. Utilize influencers to help me get the word out about my books. Offer them a tradeoff (I will market their products or services). Give them free books. 4. Set up affiliates with the Amazon affiliate program. 5. Get more reviews on all the websites that are carrying my books and other sites such as Goodreads. 6. Get more press: television, magazines, newspapers. Practice talking and filming myself. Make sure I am comfortable in front of the camera. Practice good posture. 7. Work with regional booksellers to book school events. Make a parent brochure to send home with the children. Work on my presentation. Make it great! 8. Establish myself as a thought leader in healthy living for children — speak at relevant symposiums and conferences. 9. Continue to read marketing books to educate myself. 10. Utilize outside experts in marketing and subcontract time-consuming tasks when possible. 11. Continue to learn about the business of publishing. Reach out to other successful authors. Talk to booksellers. In closing, my most recent S.W.O.T. analysis was incredibly helpful to me. I have already incorporated many of these ideas and tasks. I started with the goal of selling 10,001 books and accomplished that within three months. I therefore increased my goal to 100,001 books. Do your S.W.O.T. Analysis! I look forward to hearing back from you on your progress toward your goal. I will keep you posted on mine. Follow me on Medium or my RSS feed here for updates.
1 Comment
The real-world examples and actionable insights provide a clear roadmap for anyone looking to enhance strategic decision-making in their personal or professional endeavors. Thank you for demystifying the S.W.O.T. Analysis process and empowering your readers with the tools they need to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities effectively. Looking forward to the next installment in this series!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |