You’ve probably heard of the SWOT analysis. Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s considered a traditional component of the strategic planning process.
It’s useful, for the most part.
What I mean by this is that, a glaring issue with the SWOT analysis is that the SWOT analysis has a tendency to focus on deficits within an organization, with the intent of fixing issues and problems.
This can often be draining to your stakeholders to always think of the problems.
Another issue with the SWOT analysis is that everyone has to agree that what’s considered a “weakness” or a “threat”, as much as their needs to be agreement on what’s a “strength” or a “opportunity”. This is really based on your perception.
Dismissing the SWOT analysis doesn’t mean dismissing potential barriers to your strategic success, but it does prevent us from creating experiences that’s more engaging during the strategic planning process.
Enter the SOAR analysis.
This activity is ideal for:
- Board of directors, staff, and other stakeholders involved in your strategic planning process
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Set aside a full day (or several) for this activity, where you can work with minimal uninterrupted (as we’re still in a pandemic, determine how this will work for an in-person setting or a virtual setting) Make sure to schedule breaks!
- Whatever setup you use to capture your process (laptop, pen and paper, whiteboard, etc.) but make sure it’s kept in a place that you can refer back to
The steps:
“SOAR” stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. Compared to the SWOT analysis, SOAR addresses the potential of an organization, unearthing the possibilities, and what’s needed to be successful.
This process is useful for general morale and understanding of your organization, as well as after you’ve identified your strategic priorities.
SOAR breaks down in this way:
Strengths (key assets, resources, and capabilities)
- What does our organization do well?
- What makes our organization unique?
- What do we do or have that makes use stand out from organizations doing similar work?
Opportunities (circumstances that could be leveraged for success)
- What changes and trends are occurring in our landscape that align with our strengths?
- What threats are we seeing that can be reframed as opportunities?
- What needs and wants are we currently not fulfilling for our stakeholders?
- Are there gaps in the landscape that we could fill?
- What partnerships can we utilize that can lead to greater success?
Aspirations (an expression of what your organization desires to be and achieve in the future)
- What do we want to be and achieve in the future that builds on our strengths?
- What are the best ways we can make a difference?
- What strategies would support this direction?
Results (tangible outcomes that are easily measured and demonstrate your organization is moving in the right direction)
- How do we know when we’ve achieved our goals?
- What measures will help us learn if we’re are on track to achieve our strategic goals?
- How do we translate our strategic goals into tangible outcomes?
As you work through each section, consider the following questions under each section.
Let’s process:
I can’t remember when I first heard about the SOAR analysis, but I do remember it felt better to me.
Years ago, I was in a meeting that focused on young women and access to healthcare services. The facilitator asked us about the barriers young women face to accessing health care services. While many of the people in the room (all adults) has a lot of answers, one person noted that the group focused on the deficits versus the abilities young women have to access what they need. That shifted things for me completely. It’s very easy to get bogged down in the weaknesses and threats, but how can we reframe these to benefit us?
With the SOAR analysis, you do just that: Understanding where the challenges are and meeting them with opportunities.
You can complete the SOAR analysis in a number of ways, including as a larger group, or in smaller groups with time for each group to share their results.
If you choose to do groups, it’ll be useful for each group to observe the similarities and discuss any differences that are seen. It’s important that you get as close to a consensus as possible.
Key takeaway
The SOAR analysis is a pretty straightforward way to get clear on how you and your stakeholders view your organization and its ability to achieve strategic planning outcomes.
As mentioned earlier, this process is useful for general morale and understanding of your organization, as well as after you’ve identified your strategic priorities. For the second option, you’ll need to have already identified your strategic priorities. Once you’ve done that, review each priority using the SOAR analysis, so that your stakeholders can identify the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results for each priority.
Try this activity and let me know how it goes for you (or let me know if you need support.)
Raise Your Voice: Have you used the S.O.A.R. analysis? Share below in the comments section.
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