SWOT analysis helps you balance idealism and pragmatism, and obtain a balanced perspective of your internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats to develop an effective strategy.
Why SWOT Analysis?
SWOT Analysis is the Key Component of Strategic Development. It can prompt actions and responses.
Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. They also keep an eye on their overall business environment and spot and exploit new opportunities faster than competitors. SWOT analysis is a tool that helps many businesses in this process.
SWOT analysis is based on the assumption that if managers can carefully review such strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, a useful strategy for ensuring organizational success will become evident to them.
Strengths
Two factors contribute to your strengths: ability and resources available.
Ability is evaluated on 3 counts:
Versatility: your ability to adapt to an ever changing environment.
Growth: your ability to maintain a continuing growth.
Markets: your ability to penetrate or create new markets.
The strength of resources has three dimensions:
Availability: your ability to obtain the resources needed.
Quality: the quality and up-to-dateness of the resources employed.
Allocation: your ability to distribute resources both effectively and efficiently.
Weaknesses
Your weaknesses are determined through failures, defeats, losses and inability to match up with the dynamic situation and rapid change. The weaknesses may be rooted in lack of managerial skills, insufficient quality, technological backwardness, inadequate systems or processes, slow deliveries, or shortage of resources. There are three possible outcomes to the analysis of your weaknesses.1
Correction of an identified defect.
Protection through cover-up and prevention strategies to reduce the exposure of your weaknesses.
Aggression to divert the attention from your weaknesses.
Opportunities
Opportunities are abundant. You must develop a formula which will help you define what comes within the ambit of an opportunity to focus on those areas and pursue those opportunities where effectiveness is possible. The formula must define product/service, target market, capabilities required and resources to be employed, returns expected and the level of risk allowed.
Weaknesses of your competitions are also opportunities for you. You can exploit them in two following ways:
Marketing warfare: attacking the weak leader's position and focusing all your efforts at that point, or making a surprise move into an uncontested area.
Collaboration: you can use your complementary strengths to establish a strategic alliance with your competitor.
Threats
External threats arise from political, economic, social, technological (PEST) forces. Technological developments may make your offerings obsolete. Market changes may result from the changes in the customer needs, competitors' moves, or demographic shifts. The political situation determines government policy and taxation structure.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Reasons to Quit Your Job
You've done everything you can to make your current job work. But, your current job is not working. These are the reasons why you might want to quit your current job. These are difficult, if not impossible, to solve. You need to look out for your best interests. Your job consumes too many hours of too many days of your life for you to stay where you are miserable. No excuses, now. If these issues exist with your job, make a plan, and change jobs.
* Your company is experiencing a downward spiral, losing customers, losing money, and rumors of possible closure, bankruptcy and failure prevail.
* Your relationship with your manager is damaged beyond repair. You have sought help to mend the boss relationship but you know it is too damaged for recovery. (Perhaps you were untrustworthy, missed work on too many days, or the manager acts like an untrustworthy jerk.) Whatever the reason, the relationship is irrecoverably damaged.
* Your life situation has changed. Perhaps you have married or had a baby, and the salary and benefits no longer support your life needs. You need to move on to better opportunities to support your family.
* Your values are at odds with the corporate culture. Perhaps your company is egalitarian and you believe in assigned parking spots for salaried employees. Your company does annual employee satisfaction surveys and you think these are a waste of time. Your company is hierarchical and you want to influence every aspect of your job. No matter where the clash is occurring, a lack of congruence with the corporate culture will destroy your attitude at work.
* You've stopped having fun and enjoying your job. No matter what changed, when you dread going to work in the morning, it's time to leave your job.
* Your company is ethically challenged. Perhaps, the managers lie to customers about the quality of the products or the day on which product will ship. You become aware that the company is stealing information from competitors. Whatever the issue, don't stay in an organization where your ethics are out of sync.
* For whatever reason, you have behaved in ways that are considered improper at work. You've missed too many days of work, slacked off on the job, failed to maintain needed skills and just generally developed the reputation of a loser. That reputation, once earned, is unlikely to change, so you might as well move on, while you have the opportunity.
* You've burned your bridges with your co-workers. Your group is not getting along in an environment that requires people to work together well. Again, at some point, the reasons don't matter; start fresh in a new job and resolve to not let this situation happen again.
* Your stress level is so high at work that it is affecting your physical or mental health and your relationships with your friends and family. Watch for the signs of burnout and if they can't be cured, move on. Read this article, Tips for Managing Stress and Change at Work for some ideas about managing work stress.
* you are unchallenged, need more responsibility, and seek opportunities that just don't exist for you in your current organization. You've explored the current and potential options, and they are limited. It's time to move on.
Ready to quit your job? You can resign from your job in a way that reinforces your professional image and keeps current employer relationships positive.
* Your company is experiencing a downward spiral, losing customers, losing money, and rumors of possible closure, bankruptcy and failure prevail.
* Your relationship with your manager is damaged beyond repair. You have sought help to mend the boss relationship but you know it is too damaged for recovery. (Perhaps you were untrustworthy, missed work on too many days, or the manager acts like an untrustworthy jerk.) Whatever the reason, the relationship is irrecoverably damaged.
* Your life situation has changed. Perhaps you have married or had a baby, and the salary and benefits no longer support your life needs. You need to move on to better opportunities to support your family.
* Your values are at odds with the corporate culture. Perhaps your company is egalitarian and you believe in assigned parking spots for salaried employees. Your company does annual employee satisfaction surveys and you think these are a waste of time. Your company is hierarchical and you want to influence every aspect of your job. No matter where the clash is occurring, a lack of congruence with the corporate culture will destroy your attitude at work.
* You've stopped having fun and enjoying your job. No matter what changed, when you dread going to work in the morning, it's time to leave your job.
* Your company is ethically challenged. Perhaps, the managers lie to customers about the quality of the products or the day on which product will ship. You become aware that the company is stealing information from competitors. Whatever the issue, don't stay in an organization where your ethics are out of sync.
* For whatever reason, you have behaved in ways that are considered improper at work. You've missed too many days of work, slacked off on the job, failed to maintain needed skills and just generally developed the reputation of a loser. That reputation, once earned, is unlikely to change, so you might as well move on, while you have the opportunity.
* You've burned your bridges with your co-workers. Your group is not getting along in an environment that requires people to work together well. Again, at some point, the reasons don't matter; start fresh in a new job and resolve to not let this situation happen again.
* Your stress level is so high at work that it is affecting your physical or mental health and your relationships with your friends and family. Watch for the signs of burnout and if they can't be cured, move on. Read this article, Tips for Managing Stress and Change at Work for some ideas about managing work stress.
* you are unchallenged, need more responsibility, and seek opportunities that just don't exist for you in your current organization. You've explored the current and potential options, and they are limited. It's time to move on.
Ready to quit your job? You can resign from your job in a way that reinforces your professional image and keeps current employer relationships positive.
Friday, October 8, 2010
World's Most Powerful Brands
1. Google
The barely 10-year-old Google is the world's most powerful brand, followed by General Electric and Microsoft, according to a survey conducted by Millward Brown's BrandZ index. The survey assigned values to various brands based on their financial strength and consumer sentiment.Google, with a brand value of $66.434 billion, is the world's most powerful brand.
2. GE
General Electric's brand value has been estimated at $61.880 billion, making it the world's second most powerful brand. GE is a giant US multinational, with headquarters in Fairfield , Connecticut , engaged in technology and services industries. It is the world's second largest company in terms of market capitalisation.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is the world's largest software company, with global annual revenue of over $44.28 billion. With a brand value of $54.951 billion, it also is the planet's third most powerful brand. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, is the executive chairman of the software giant which he co-founded along with Paul Allen in 1975.Microsoft employs 76,000 people across 102 countries.
4. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola's brand value has been estimated at $44.134 billion, making it the world's foruth most powerful brand. Coca-Cola, a carbonated soft drink, was intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in 1885 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Covington , Georgia .
5. China Mobile
China Mobile is the world's 5th most powerful brand with a value of $41.214 billion. China Mobile Communications Corporation, also known as China Mobile or CMCC, is China 's largest mobile phone operator. It is the world's largest mobile phone operator ranked by number of subscribers, with over 296 million customers. By turnover it is second to Vodafone, which owns 3.3% of the China Mobile.
6. Marlboro
Marlboro's brand value has been estimated at $39.166 billion, making it the 6th most powerful brand. Marlboro, made by Altria, is the world's best selling cig@rette brand. It is famous for its billboard advertisements and magazine ads of the Marlboro Man. Philip Morris, a London-based cig@rette manufacturer, created a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell several of its cig@rette brands, including Marlboro.
7. Wal-Mart
The world's 7th most powerful brand, Wal-Mart, is estimated to be worth $36.880 billion. Wal-Mart Stores is an American public corporation and the world's largest retailer. It is the largest private employer, the largest grocery retailer, and the largest toy seller in the United States.
8. Citi
Citi is the world's 8th most powerful brand with an estimated value of $33.706 billion. Citigroup Inc was formed following the $140 billion merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group on April 7, 1998 to create the world's largest financial services organisation. The company employs almost 300,000 people around the world.
9. IBM
International Business Machines Corporation, also called IBM or 'Big Blue', is a multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Armonk , New York , USA . Till 2006 it was the world's largest computer company, but has now ceded the top spot to Hewlett-Packard. With over 350,000 employees worldwide, IBM is the largest information technology employer in the world.
10. Toyota
Toyota with an estimated brand value of $33.427 billion is the 10th most powerful brand in the world. Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation and the world's largest auto company that manufactures automobiles, trucks, buses, and robots. The headquarters of Toyota are located in Toyota , Aichi , Japan . It is the world's eighth largest company by revenue of $179 billion as of 2006.
The barely 10-year-old Google is the world's most powerful brand, followed by General Electric and Microsoft, according to a survey conducted by Millward Brown's BrandZ index. The survey assigned values to various brands based on their financial strength and consumer sentiment.Google, with a brand value of $66.434 billion, is the world's most powerful brand.
2. GE
General Electric's brand value has been estimated at $61.880 billion, making it the world's second most powerful brand. GE is a giant US multinational, with headquarters in Fairfield , Connecticut , engaged in technology and services industries. It is the world's second largest company in terms of market capitalisation.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is the world's largest software company, with global annual revenue of over $44.28 billion. With a brand value of $54.951 billion, it also is the planet's third most powerful brand. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, is the executive chairman of the software giant which he co-founded along with Paul Allen in 1975.Microsoft employs 76,000 people across 102 countries.
4. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola's brand value has been estimated at $44.134 billion, making it the world's foruth most powerful brand. Coca-Cola, a carbonated soft drink, was intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in 1885 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Covington , Georgia .
5. China Mobile
China Mobile is the world's 5th most powerful brand with a value of $41.214 billion. China Mobile Communications Corporation, also known as China Mobile or CMCC, is China 's largest mobile phone operator. It is the world's largest mobile phone operator ranked by number of subscribers, with over 296 million customers. By turnover it is second to Vodafone, which owns 3.3% of the China Mobile.
6. Marlboro
Marlboro's brand value has been estimated at $39.166 billion, making it the 6th most powerful brand. Marlboro, made by Altria, is the world's best selling cig@rette brand. It is famous for its billboard advertisements and magazine ads of the Marlboro Man. Philip Morris, a London-based cig@rette manufacturer, created a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell several of its cig@rette brands, including Marlboro.
7. Wal-Mart
The world's 7th most powerful brand, Wal-Mart, is estimated to be worth $36.880 billion. Wal-Mart Stores is an American public corporation and the world's largest retailer. It is the largest private employer, the largest grocery retailer, and the largest toy seller in the United States.
8. Citi
Citi is the world's 8th most powerful brand with an estimated value of $33.706 billion. Citigroup Inc was formed following the $140 billion merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group on April 7, 1998 to create the world's largest financial services organisation. The company employs almost 300,000 people around the world.
9. IBM
International Business Machines Corporation, also called IBM or 'Big Blue', is a multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Armonk , New York , USA . Till 2006 it was the world's largest computer company, but has now ceded the top spot to Hewlett-Packard. With over 350,000 employees worldwide, IBM is the largest information technology employer in the world.
10. Toyota
Toyota with an estimated brand value of $33.427 billion is the 10th most powerful brand in the world. Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation and the world's largest auto company that manufactures automobiles, trucks, buses, and robots. The headquarters of Toyota are located in Toyota , Aichi , Japan . It is the world's eighth largest company by revenue of $179 billion as of 2006.
Tips for Interview
My Friend just got back from his 4th job interview in a week, and he've learned a TON throughout the whole (and at times, crazy) process.
Since we're all about sharing here, I thought I'd pass on the 10 juiciest lessons that I took away from our experiences.
Hopefully they'll be of some benefit to you as either an interviewer or interviewee somewhere down the road.
So here goes...
1. Attitude is everything. If you're smiling, excited and optimistic, you've already won half the battle. If you're cold, distant and uninterested, you've already lost 99% of the battle.
2. Be yourself. If you act like someone else and they like you, they don't actually like YOU. They like the person you're pretending to be. If you end up getting a job there, you won't be able to keep up the facade for very long anyway. Honesty and authenticity are very appealing characteristics. If both parties stay true to themselves, they'll know if they're right for each other. And in the end, that's usually what matters most.
3. Relax. Interviews are not really interviews at all. They're conversations. Treat them like conversations, and the tension will slowly dissolve. Remember: when you walk into that office, you don't have the job to begin with. In theory, you have nothing to lose. You either come out way ahead or back where you started. If you approach the situation with a "win-draw" mentality, most of the pressure will fall by the wayside.
4. Appearance counts. Before you meet people, virtually the only judgment you can make is based on aesthetics. What you're wearing matters. What they're wearing matters. How you sit, stand, shake hands, hold your pen and walk up the stairs counts. Not enormously, but enough. First impressions are huge. Also, how does the building look? Is the lobby clean and organized? Are the cubicles bunched together? Is the ceiling high or low? Does it look like a fun place to work? Does it invite you to come back?
5. Fit is crucial. All the smarts, skills and experience in the world mean nothing without the right fit. If your values aren't aligned with those of the company, you're doomed. If you like to have fun and they're always serious, don't even bother. Seriously. The more you fit in, the more you'll want to come back every day and bust your butt. If you're always at odds with your coworkers, you're going to hate your job. Simple as that.
6. Liking means more than talent. The days of standing in line and putting decals on widgets is over. People don't hire you because you're capable. They hire you because they want to work with you. If you don't get along, and get along well, the interview will probably be fruitless. Unless, of course, you applied for the "Assistant Placer of Decals on Widgets" position...
7. Be persistent. It's incredibly easy to get lazy, give up and feel sorry for yourself. People will turn you down, never call you back, and forget your name over and over again. None of that matters. What matters is perseverance. If you can't handle losing a few battles along the way, you're in for a tough road ahead. Getting a job is like winning a war. It takes patience, planning, time, effort, dedication and a little bit of luck. The chips will fall your way sooner or later. If you stay persistent, you'll at least give yourself a chance to catch them.
8. Bring an insane amount of (intelligent) questions. Nothing feels worse that not being prepared. If you don't bring loads of questions, you're not prepared. At some point, the interviewer will ask you what you want to know. For the record, you want to know everything. Be curious. Be interested. Be engrossed. Ask your question, and then get ready to listen. Don't think of what you're going to say next. Just soak up every word like a giant sponge. The more questions you ask, the more you'll get out of the experience. And as a bonus, they'll know you care deeply about their business. When you care about what they care about, you both start to align, and that's when the magic happens.
9. Focus on their needs, not yours. It's tempting to sell ourselves, to talk about how great we are, and to show off our past experiences. But guess what. No one cares. What they really care about is how your "amazingness" will translate into success for their company. Don't focus on your talents, focus on what your talents will do for them.
10. Blogging will give you a HUGE leg up. Blogging forces you to analyze, collaborate and create solutions. It also gives you plenty of ideas for improving customer experiences, businesses and relationships. These skills (among countless others) will give you confidence, poise, energy and know-how when it comes time to explain yourself. Your insights will be sharper, your thinking will be deeper, and your ability to express your opinions clearly and concisely will be much stronger. Blogging will prepare you better than any "How-To" book in the world. Trust me.
These 10 things are just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more we can learn from each other about this process as a whole, so please feel free to share.
What are your best interviewing tips? What do you wish you would've known? For those of you who've been on both sides of the table, what have you learned from each situation?
Since we're all about sharing here, I thought I'd pass on the 10 juiciest lessons that I took away from our experiences.
Hopefully they'll be of some benefit to you as either an interviewer or interviewee somewhere down the road.
So here goes...
1. Attitude is everything. If you're smiling, excited and optimistic, you've already won half the battle. If you're cold, distant and uninterested, you've already lost 99% of the battle.
2. Be yourself. If you act like someone else and they like you, they don't actually like YOU. They like the person you're pretending to be. If you end up getting a job there, you won't be able to keep up the facade for very long anyway. Honesty and authenticity are very appealing characteristics. If both parties stay true to themselves, they'll know if they're right for each other. And in the end, that's usually what matters most.
3. Relax. Interviews are not really interviews at all. They're conversations. Treat them like conversations, and the tension will slowly dissolve. Remember: when you walk into that office, you don't have the job to begin with. In theory, you have nothing to lose. You either come out way ahead or back where you started. If you approach the situation with a "win-draw" mentality, most of the pressure will fall by the wayside.
4. Appearance counts. Before you meet people, virtually the only judgment you can make is based on aesthetics. What you're wearing matters. What they're wearing matters. How you sit, stand, shake hands, hold your pen and walk up the stairs counts. Not enormously, but enough. First impressions are huge. Also, how does the building look? Is the lobby clean and organized? Are the cubicles bunched together? Is the ceiling high or low? Does it look like a fun place to work? Does it invite you to come back?
5. Fit is crucial. All the smarts, skills and experience in the world mean nothing without the right fit. If your values aren't aligned with those of the company, you're doomed. If you like to have fun and they're always serious, don't even bother. Seriously. The more you fit in, the more you'll want to come back every day and bust your butt. If you're always at odds with your coworkers, you're going to hate your job. Simple as that.
6. Liking means more than talent. The days of standing in line and putting decals on widgets is over. People don't hire you because you're capable. They hire you because they want to work with you. If you don't get along, and get along well, the interview will probably be fruitless. Unless, of course, you applied for the "Assistant Placer of Decals on Widgets" position...
7. Be persistent. It's incredibly easy to get lazy, give up and feel sorry for yourself. People will turn you down, never call you back, and forget your name over and over again. None of that matters. What matters is perseverance. If you can't handle losing a few battles along the way, you're in for a tough road ahead. Getting a job is like winning a war. It takes patience, planning, time, effort, dedication and a little bit of luck. The chips will fall your way sooner or later. If you stay persistent, you'll at least give yourself a chance to catch them.
8. Bring an insane amount of (intelligent) questions. Nothing feels worse that not being prepared. If you don't bring loads of questions, you're not prepared. At some point, the interviewer will ask you what you want to know. For the record, you want to know everything. Be curious. Be interested. Be engrossed. Ask your question, and then get ready to listen. Don't think of what you're going to say next. Just soak up every word like a giant sponge. The more questions you ask, the more you'll get out of the experience. And as a bonus, they'll know you care deeply about their business. When you care about what they care about, you both start to align, and that's when the magic happens.
9. Focus on their needs, not yours. It's tempting to sell ourselves, to talk about how great we are, and to show off our past experiences. But guess what. No one cares. What they really care about is how your "amazingness" will translate into success for their company. Don't focus on your talents, focus on what your talents will do for them.
10. Blogging will give you a HUGE leg up. Blogging forces you to analyze, collaborate and create solutions. It also gives you plenty of ideas for improving customer experiences, businesses and relationships. These skills (among countless others) will give you confidence, poise, energy and know-how when it comes time to explain yourself. Your insights will be sharper, your thinking will be deeper, and your ability to express your opinions clearly and concisely will be much stronger. Blogging will prepare you better than any "How-To" book in the world. Trust me.
These 10 things are just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more we can learn from each other about this process as a whole, so please feel free to share.
What are your best interviewing tips? What do you wish you would've known? For those of you who've been on both sides of the table, what have you learned from each situation?
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