Sweatt model vs swot analysis

A New Model in the World of Quality: SWEATT Overtakes SWOT

Session: Monday, May 16, 2016 - 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Learning Objectives

Define a new method of strategic thought that drives actions and accountability that are linked to the most important goals and objectives of the organization

Provide examples of how to use the SWEATT tool

Provide a template for participants to practice using the SWEATT tool

Leadership

Leadership is about being immersed in the details -

about understanding the organization
products and services
inventors and customers
to a level of familiarity that effective strategies can be built, implemented and sustained.

To achieve this there must be measurement that looks directly at the details of the strategy, sets expectations and drives accountability.

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Once upon a Time . . .

there was SWOT. . . .

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

“I am all for change as long as I am not there when it happens.”

Leadership

Adrian Monk

Monk TV Series

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Things Have Changed . . .

iPad/Android

. . . now there is SWEATT

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

What is SWEATT?

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

A disclaimer . . . .

This is a process discussion; no real data is used (SWEATT models can be highly confidential)
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Strengths Section of SWEATT

Where the competitive advantages reside
First pass may include criteria that should be listed as a weakness
Subsequent passes only include criteria that represent competitive advantage
Only criteria that the organization is committed to sustaining as a strength should be listed
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Strengths

Criterion

Measurement

Current

Value

Movement

Point

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are where the organization finds itself at a competitive disadvantage.
In order to be of value, there must be no organizational system or process that is off limits, including:
competence of the current senior leadership team
current goals of the organization
the current human and technical resource talent of the organization.
Weaknesses initially listed may be superficial but as the SWEATT model matures the criterion of the weakness section should become more honest, and thus, beneficial.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Weaknesses

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Excellence . . . A Paradigm Shift

Excellence, if achieved, shows a significant improvement to the organization’s products, services and processes and drives a competitive advantage for the organization.
The excellence differs from the opportunity section of the classic SWOT model in that the excellence section of the SWEATT model encompasses significant improvements that are plausible and possible, whereas the opportunity section of the SWOT model encompasses that may be neither plausible or possible.
The excellence criteria are the game changers for the organization - in a positive way.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Excellence

Marriage

1

150

90

95

Threats – The organization must prevent threats from happening

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

If threats happen, threats could prevent the organization for improving their products, services and processes.
The threats must be based in reality; there must be a reasonable chance the threats could actually occur if there are not actions taken (by the organization) to prevent them from happening.
The elements of the threat section are also game changers for the organization – in a negative manner.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Threats

Marriage

3

Actions are necessary to maintain the strengths of the organization, decrease the weaknesses of the organization, achieve the excellence objectives of the organization and avoid the threats..
Actions must be achievable.

Each criterion must have at least one associated action.

A mix of immediate (less than one year), short-term (one to three years) and long-term (three to five years).

As such, if there are 3 – 5 criteria in the strength, weaknesses, excellence and threats section of the SWEATT model there will be (approximately) 12 – 25 actions listed in the action section of the SWEATT model.

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Actions

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Actions

Russell L. Roberson, Ph.D.

Page 17

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Team

Team members are listed who were a significant part of the SWEATT development process.
The team section provides the next set of management with an indication of biases under which the previous SWEATT model was developed.
The SWEATT model will only be as good as the team that works the model; the wrong SWEATT team can do tremendous damage to the SWEATT model and, from there, tremendous damage to the strategy of the organization.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Team

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Linking to Goals

The SWEATT model should transfer to the goals of the organization. Simply, if it made the SWEATT model the criterion should be part of the goals.
This would imply that there can be multiple SWEATT models in organizations at all levels. So, for manufacturing there might be a SWEATT model for the manufacturing senior leadership team, line operations, documentation department, warehousing et al.
Using the SWEATT model before setting the goals and objectives assures the organization (or department) that the goals and objectives are measurable and actionable.
The SWEATT model helps organizations (and departments) know how to allocate and re-allocate their resources.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

When teams develop their initial SWEATT models, the discussions can become contentious and tend to drag on and on and on.
Individuals (and teams) are not always receptive to defining measures and movement points that are visible and to which they can be held accountable.
The measures must matter and must drive actions. The movement points must have meaning and must result in a consequence to the organization (and, as such, to the SWEATT team members). It is not unusual for the initial SWEATT model (for a department) to take 4 - 5 days to develop and, when done, the SWEATT team will be exhausted.
Early SWEATT teams tend get bogged down over whether something is strength or a weakness and from there how to define meaningful measures that can guide the organization.
Difficulties Implementing SWEATT Model

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

When teams are forced to put meaningful measures around a criterion, this alone can be difficult.
Forcing the discussion to a movement point requires the teams to think outside their own areas of expertise – in the areas of customers, investors, employees … and then in the areas of the right innovations, the right investments …
As SWEATT teams mature, however, the SWEATT process becomes more efficient and can be completed in a 1 – 2 day period and the discussions become much easier.
SWEATT not only drives the right business decisions; SWEATT develops leaders within the organization!
Difficulties Implementing SWEATT Model

When USING the SWEATT model be prepared to:

Struggle in the beginning with defining the criteria

Define measures that drive actions

Define measureable actions

Make sure the current values are correct

Be committed to the movement points

Develop actions that link to the criteria in a crisp and clear manner

Publish the SWEATT model

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Rules for use of the SWEATT Model:

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

The Power of the SWEATT

Stakeholders, employees, suppliers, customers, etc. can clearly see how leadership thinks and the direction that the organization is heading .

The SWEATT model forges teams to the objectives the organization with clear measures and movement points .

SWOT vs. SWEATT

Strength

Weaknesses

Excellence

Threats

Actions

Team

Strength

Weaknesses

Threats

Opportunities

Love

Financial Security

Family Vacations

Infidelity

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

A Personal SWEATT Model

Strength

Weaknesses

Excellence

Threats

Actions

Team

Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value CV - 1
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Strength/Weaknesses

Strength

Weaknesses

Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Life long learner Number of books read in one year Business = 12 Biography = 6 Fiction = 4 Other = 3 Business = 9 Biography = 4 Fiction = 1 Other = 2
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Weight Weight at 6 AM every Monday morning 221 185
Excellence/Threats

Excellence

Threats

Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Finish Leadership book Publish book on Amazon 0 1
Finish fiction book Publish book on Amazon 0 1
Run ½ marathon Run Jan ‘17 Disney ½ marathon without stopping Run Sept ’17 Disneyland marathon without stopping 0 0 1 1
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Missed vacations % committed vacation days missed in one year 5% 15%
Actions/Team

Team

Actions

Criteria Measurement Current Value CV - 1
Myself Age Marriage Children graduate college Children in college 57 Yes 4 1 56 Yes 3 2
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Write more Number of hours spent writing a book per week 2 8
Work out Number of days working out 3 5
Work out Number of miles run per week 25 36
SWOT vs. SWEATT

Strength

Weaknesses

Excellence

Threats

Actions

Team

Strength

Weaknesses

Threats

Opportunities

Life Long Learner

Weight

Finished Books

Missed Vacations

Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Missed vacations % committed vacation days missed in one year 5% 15%
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Weight Weight at 6 AM every Monday morning 221 185
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Life long learner Number of books read in one year Business = 12 Biography = 6 Fiction = 4 Other = 3 Business = 9 Biography = 4 Fiction = 1 Other = 2
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Finish Leadership book Publish book on Amazon 0 1
Criteria Measurement Current Value CV - 1
Myself Age Marriage Children graduate college Children in college 57 Yes 4 1 56 Yes 3 2
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Write more Number of hours spent writing a book per week 2 8
Work out Number of days working out 3 5
Work out Number of miles run per week 25 36
Leadership Review

Define a new method of strategic thought that drives actions and accountability linked to the most important goals and objectives of the organization
Provide examples of how to use the SWEATT tool
Provide a template for participants to practice using the SWEATT tool
Closing

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

The SWEATT model is not a simple tool. SWEATT takes leadership commitment to develop and implement.
The SWEATT model is a necessary tool when applying reasoned thought to strategic planning and execution.
The SWEATT model is a gift to the stakeholders of the organization in that the SWEATT model provides insight into how the leadership of the organization thinks. Knowing how others think helps to assure buy-in and commitments to almost any strategic plan.
Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

Appendix

Strengths  Weaknesses  Excellence  Actions  Threats  Team

SWEATT

Strength

Weaknesses

Excellence

Threats

Actions

Team

Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point
Criteria Measurement Current Value CV - 1
Criteria Measurement Current Value Movement Point