This time-tested analytical technique can help you get results.

If you can't swim, it's probably not a good idea to join the Navy.

That may sound simple enough. But in business, identifying weaknesses and strengths is complex. What was a strength yesterday may become a liability tomorrow. A problem may blossom into an opportunity.

For these reasons, many American Management Association experts agree it's best to consider an issue systematically from every angle before launching a fix. So whether your issue is personal (a stalled career?) or corporate (lackluster sales?), call the SWOT team.

Understand the Tool
The SWOT concept--strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats--has been around for decades. It breaks down as follows:

• Strengths--capabilities that enable heightened performance and that should be leveraged
• Weaknesses--characteristics that put you at a relative disadvantage and that should be addressed
• Opportunities--chances to make greater sales or profits, or trends, forces, or events that you or your company can use to your advantage
• Threats--elements in the environment that could cause trouble, such as circumstances outside your control that you may need to handle

Strengths and weaknesses are generally internal issues--things under your influence you can use, improve, or sidestep. Opportunities and threats tend to be external, and you're probably going to have to consider ways to respond to both.

Check the Perimeter
In a SWOT review, it's wise to start closer to "OT" than "SW." No business or person exists in a vacuum. The fact that you're good at something doesn't mean there's a market for it.

Once you've identified your opportunities, see how they match up to your strengths. The goal, of course, is to uncover opportunities that build on strengths, skirt current weaknesses, and offer strong bets against potential threats.

Ask Tough Questions
Your next step? Get real. Ask:

• Do I/we have the resources to take advantage of the opportunities we've uncovered?
• Can I/we neutralize potential threats?
• How many of my/our competitors have similar strengths or competencies?
• How big a problem will my/our weaknesses be? What can be done to overcome them?

Financial realities and core competencies play a role. Let's say you identify an opportunity, but don't yet have the resources or skills to take advantage of it. If the cost of acquiring them will outweigh the opportunity, perhaps it should be scrapped.

Gather the Troops
You don't have to answer these questions alone. For company conundrums, tap smart, capable coworkers--ideally from varying perspectives in your organization--or even trusted vendors. Then try to punch holes in your sense of the industry; the market; and your strengths, skills, and trouble spots.

On personal issues, tap people who know you--both those with a vested interest in your success (like a spouse) and those without (like a business associate). They may offer perspectives you hadn't considered.

Make It a Habit
Some analysts say a one-time SWOT exercise is nearly useless. SWOT and the goal-setting that follows must become second nature because the business landscape changes so often.

When it feels like the sand is shifting under your feet, scan the horizon and rally the troops. You might find yourself a step ahead of the competition.

By Stephanie Molnar, a feature writer for Vitality. For more information, visit the American Management Association at www.amanet.org.

© Krames StayWell. Information is the opinion of the sourced authors and organizations. Personal decisions regarding health, diet, and exercise should be made only after consultation with the reader's own medical advisers. This material may not be reproduced for redistribution without written permission from Krames StayWell.