2. Framing the changes

Saying that there is a 'change' happening out there in the world is a bit vague.

It is much easier to consider the impact of change when you can apply some structure to it. This allows you to analyse and classify the changes taking place.

A classic way of doing this is called a SWOT analysis. Meaning Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is often laid out as a simple box

A typical SWOT analysis grid

The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to allow a company to do some strategic planning in an organised way. The company is divided into four aspects

• Strengths - what is the company good at, what are its competitive advantages
• Weaknesses - what is the company poor at, what disadvantages is it enduring
• Opportunities - what external changes are happening that could be an opportunity
• Threats - what external changes are happening that will have a negative impact on the company

We will not dwell on the 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' in this mini-web because this is all about external changes and their impact.