Strengths
What the organization does well, from the inside.
- Look at
- People, equipment, money, processes
- Tip
- Ask outsiders what they see
SWOT analysis in consulting, and what to use in a case
A SWOT analysis lists an organization's strengths and weaknesses, which are internal, and the opportunities and threats it faces, which are external. The Community Tool Box suggests building it with a mixed group, in small breakout sessions. In a case interview, in our experience, a raw SWOT rarely helps: it lists facts without answering the question. Use a structure built for the question, and if you do use SWOT, pair the boxes into choices. Soreno, an AI voice interview practice app for consulting, investment banking and other finance candidates, runs a free sample case with no sign-up, where you build your own structure out loud, and full mock cases with scored feedback.
Updated
- Internal
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Resources, people, processes, track record
- External
- Opportunities and threats
- Trends, the economy, rules, demographics
- Worked case
- A SWOT of a consulting firm
- Invented by us, every number shown
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- A full sample case with a timer
What is a SWOT analysis?
The University of Kansas Community Tool Box describes a SWOT analysis as a way to identify an organization's strengths and weaknesses and the broader opportunities and threats it faces, to help with both strategic planning and decision making. It says the method was first developed for business and industry, and that its strengths are its simplicity and that it works at many levels. Each card below is one box, with what goes in it and a tip. The weaknesses tip is ours, the rest follow the Tool Box.
Weaknesses
What holds it back, also from the inside.
- Look at
- The same areas as strengths
- Tip
- Be specific, with a number
Opportunities
Outside changes it could use.
- Look at
- Trends, economy, demographics, laws
- Tip
- It turns into a threat if rivals see it too
Threats
Outside changes that could hurt it.
- Look at
- The same forces as opportunities
- Tip
- Some threats hide an opportunity
Worked example: a SWOT of a consulting firm (ours)4 boxes
Lakeview Advisors, an invented 40 person operations consulting firm, wants a plan to grow. The partners start with a SWOT. This firm and every number in it are invented by Soreno for practice.
Strengths
Hospital supply chain work
A record of cutting supply costs at 4 health systems, partners who still run projects themselves, and repeat clients: the three largest bring 55% of revenue.
Weaknesses
68% of hours billed
40 consultants with 1,800 available hours each bill 68% of them at $250 an hour, $12.24 million a year. The largest client alone is 25% of revenue, $3.06 million. No brand outside Chicago.
Opportunities
Health systems under cost pressure
More hospitals want outside help on supply costs, and clients want shorter, fixed-fee projects they can approve quickly.
Threats
Bigger firms and tighter budgets
Large firms bidding on smaller projects, clients cutting consulting budgets in a slowdown and new software tools that do part of a cost review.
From SWOT to a plan: pair the boxes (ours)4 pairings
The Community Tool Box shows a TOWS matrix, adapted from Fred David's Strategic Management text, that pairs the boxes into strategies. Here it is for Lakeview, with the numbers.
Strengths with opportunities
Sell the hospital record
Package the supply chain work as a fixed-fee review for health systems. It uses the firm's best strength on its biggest opportunity.
Weaknesses with opportunities
$1.26 million from utilization
Short fixed-fee projects fill the gaps between long ones. Lifting billed hours from 68% to 75% adds 5,040 hours, or $1.26 million a year at $250, with no new hires. Revenue goes to $13.5 million.
Strengths with threats
Compete on depth, not price
Against large firms, lead with partners on every project and hospital results the client can call. Don't cut rates.
Weaknesses with threats
Spread the client risk
After the utilization gain the largest client is still 23% of revenue. To bring it to 20% at its current spend, revenue must reach $15.3 million, about $1.8 million of new business. Win that from new health systems first.
How to run a SWOT with a team5 steps
The steps follow the Community Tool Box, with our notes for client work.
Gather
Mix the people
The Tool Box says a SWOT works better with a range of stakeholders, since each sees different strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Bring in people who see the client from outside.
Brainstorm
Small groups, 20 to 30 minutes
It suggests breakout groups of three to ten, with 20 to 30 minutes to fill in their own chart, ruling out no ideas at this stage.
Refine
Keep the points that matter
Then cut the list to the most important points in each box, so the analysis stays focused.
Pair
Turn the boxes into strategies
Match strengths to opportunities, and so on, as in the Lakeview example above.
Act
Tie it to goals and a plan
The Tool Box ends with relating the analysis to the vision, mission and goals, and turning it into action plans and strategies.
From University of Kansas Community Tool Box: SWOT analysis.
Why do case interviewers rarely want a raw SWOT?
This is our view from practice cases. A SWOT is a fine way to sort what you know in a workshop. In a 30 minute case, four lists do not answer the question, and interviewers notice. Here is what goes wrong, and what to do instead.
It doesn't answer the question
The interviewer asked whether to enter, why profit fell or how to grow. A SWOT lists facts about the company without a hypothesis.
- What interviewers listen for
- Do you start from the client's question?
- What a strong story shows
- A structure whose branches each answer part of the question.
The boxes overlap
A big client is a strength and a risk. A trend is an opportunity and a threat. That breaks MECE, so the interviewer can't follow which branch you are on.
- What interviewers listen for
- Are the branches separate and complete?
- What a strong story shows
- A MECE issue tree built for the case.
No numbers, no order
Nothing in a SWOT says which point matters most. Case answers turn on sizing: which branch is worth the most.
- What interviewers listen for
- Do you size things and rank them?
- What a strong story shows
- Numbers on each branch, and a clear first priority.
Use SWOT logic at the end, paired
If a SWOT helps, use it to test the recommendation: which strength wins this opportunity, and which threat could sink it. That is the TOWS pairing, and it ends in a choice.
- What interviewers listen for
- Does your answer end in a decision?
- What a strong story shows
- A recommendation, the main risk and the next step.
6 case questions to answer without a raw SWOT
Each of these tempts a SWOT. Under each is what a strong answer does instead.
Where a SWOT is tempting
Start from the question, not four boxes.
Your client is a regional grocery chain. Profits are down 20% over two years. How would you structure the problem?
Splits profit into revenue and costs to find the line that moved, instead of listing the chain's strengths and threats. Practice it, see a model answer
A European e-bike maker is thinking about entering the US market. How would you structure the decision?
Checks the market, the competition, the maker's ability to win and the economics, each with a question to answer. Practice it, see a model answer
A regional bank's customer growth has stalled. How would you structure the problem?
Splits growth into new customers won and customers lost, then asks which side changed and why. Practice it, see a model answer
A furniture retailer with 60 stores wants to start selling online. How would you structure the decision?
Weighs the online market, what the stores give the retailer an edge in and what it would cost, ending in a yes or no. Practice it, see a model answer
A software company is growing 40% a year and still losing money. How would you assess whether that is a problem?
Looks at what each new customer costs and earns over time, not a list of strengths and weaknesses. Practice it, see a model answer
Close the case
Where SWOT logic, paired, can help.
You have finished the analysis on a market entry case and the CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?
Leads with the answer, names the strength that makes it work and the threat that could sink it, then the next step. Practice it, see a model answer
Common SWOT mistakes in consulting
The last three draw on the Community Tool Box. The first three are mistakes we hear in practice cases.
Opening a case with it
Use the profit tree for a profit case, a market entry structure for an entry case and an issue tree for the rest. Keep SWOT for the close, if at all.
Mixing inside and outside
Strengths and weaknesses are things the organization controls. Opportunities and threats are outside forces it doesn't. A new competitor is a threat, not a weakness.
A list with no pairing
The value is in pairing boxes into strategies. Without that, a SWOT is a description.
Justifying a decision already made
The Community Tool Box, citing two Iowa State University authors, notes that SWOT usually reflects the current position and can be used to justify a course already chosen. Ask what would change your mind.
Too modest, or too vague
"Good people" says nothing. Name the strength and put a number on it where you can, like repeat clients bringing over half of revenue.
Missing the outside view
The Tool Box suggests asking those you serve and partner with how they see you. Clients often see strengths and problems the team doesn't.
Build your own structure out loud
Soreno's AI interviewer gives you a case, asks for your structure, pushes back when it doesn't answer the question and scores the session. Start your free week.
Questions people ask
What is a SWOT analysis?
A list of an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal. Opportunities and threats come from outside. It helps with planning and decisions.
Do consultants use SWOT?
Yes, though in our experience mostly in planning workshops with a client team, to sort what everyone knows. The work that follows is pairing the boxes into strategies and putting numbers on them.
Should I use SWOT in a case interview?
In our experience, rarely as your structure. Build one for the question. SWOT logic, paired, can help test your final recommendation.
When does a SWOT fit in a case interview?
In our experience, when the interviewer asks for it, when the question is a broad health check of one company, or when you compare two options for the same client. Even then, pair the boxes and end on a choice.
What would a SWOT of a consulting firm include?
Strengths like a track record in one industry and repeat clients. Weaknesses like low billed hours or a few clients bringing most of the revenue. Opportunities like a sector under cost pressure. Threats like bigger firms bidding on small projects and budget cuts. See the worked example above.
What is a TOWS matrix?
SWOT with the boxes paired into strategies: strengths with opportunities, weaknesses with opportunities, strengths with threats and weaknesses with threats. The Community Tool Box adapts it from Fred David's Strategic Management text.
Is SWOT the same as Porter's five forces?
No. Five forces judges a whole industry from the outside. SWOT looks at one organization, inside and out. Five forces asks if the industry is worth being in. SWOT asks what this one company has to work with.