Sharpen your SORD

SWOT is ubiquitous, every business person knows it anchors aweigh there are very few business people who haven't used it. I myself have used it countless times and it is powerful and it is effective particularly when used in a large business.

When I started my own small business I used it again. I listed my Strengths and my Opportunities quite easily. But I was not comfortable with Weaknesses. OK so there is a lot of stuff I don't know yet and I don't avoid reality but it just felt de-energising. Lastly - Threats for my small business there are not a lot of Threats. I could list a few but in my training and coaching niche it was more effort than benefit.

So I put the thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on other work. But the universe quietly worked away and kept tapping me on the inside of my forehead so I looked again at SWOT. What came out of these deliberations was SORD. Like SWOT it can be a 4 box matrix or ideally and less restrictively 4 discrete lists.

S = Strengths
O = Opportunities
R = Realities
D = Development areas

*Strengths is the same as SWOT i.e. list everything you are good at, what you know, what experience you have, what qualifications you have etc

*Opportunities is the same as SWOT i.e. who do you know that can use or refer what you are selling, where do you work, where have you worked, who needs what you sell, who do the people you know in turn know, who have you previously done business with etc

*REALITIES is the factual stuff around your budget, time availability and other reources. It is also the reality of you level of skill, investment and expertise. It gives you a great fix on what you can do now so you are able to FOCUS which is key to your potential marketing and business success. It is also dynamic so as you gain more resources with the development of your business you can re-evaluate and refocus your efforts.

*DEVELOPMENT AREAS is those skills and qualifications, that experience and knowledge that you choose to gain over time. There will be varying degrees of urgency driven by your own goals and objectives. The purpose, like Realities is to develop a dynamic list where you prioritise what you want to achieve and approach it in a systematic and dynamic way so the list evolves over time. As you achieve the items on your list they convert to strengths and opportunities so reinforcing your capabilities as a business person and entrepreneur.

So SORD has My Friend Mandy similarities to SWOT and some clear and distinct differences from it. It is designed for the modern small entrepreneurial business where there is strong attention to what is going on and what must be done to sharpen focus and create greater success. It is also better suited to businesses where more than one individual occupies key roles so the individual SORD analyses can be combined into one composite picture for the whole business.

To be really effective it must be treated dynamically. Each time there is a change or a development then the SORD needs to be revisited and the appropriate changes made. This is essential because a change in one box or list ripples into other boxes and lists. So, you may gain a new skill, this deletes an item from the Development Area but adds a Strength and Ants in the Pants an Opportunity. So one change can be a double or triple whammy.

Robin Pratt is an accredited coach and mentor and also a lifelong marketeer. His special area is working with entrepreneurs who are seeking greater success. This work on SORD is taken from the interactive e workbook "Creating a Truly Successful Busieness. Details of theis can be found at target="_new" www.whiteknucklemarketing.co.uk">www.whiteknucklemarketing.co.uk