Often after delivering one of my talks or programs, the question I often receive is; “What other programs or services do you offer that can help our organization?”

Like any good speaker or sales person, the first response is to explore their needs. As a sales professional and organizational consultant, I know it is most important to understand the motivation behind the original question.

The SWOT analysis is one of the most effective tools in working with a team, business, or organization. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and it is a very effective method of gathering the internal perspectives of an individual or any organization.

What if you performed a SWOT analysis on yourself. It’s easy to do, but honesty is very important. On a large piece of paper draw a square box with four even sections.

Strengths

In the upper left quadrant list your strengths. Ask yourself the following questions:

What makes me unique?

What am I really good at?

What are my highly-regarded characteristics?

Weaknesses

Now focus on your weaknesses, or as I like to say your lesser strengths. Ask yourself these questions, and then list them in the upper right quadrant:

What do I not do well?

What do others tell me I don’t do well, but I don’t necessarily agree with?

What areas do I need to improve?

What do my friends, customers and co-workers need that I can’t deliver?

Opportunities

Ask yourself these questions to help identify your opportunities and list them in the lower left corner:

What external factors can I take advantage of?

What activities would help me be more successful?

What can I do to improve?

Threats

Threats to a business are easily defined. However, an individual faces threats as well. Ask yourself these questions to help identify your threats and list them in the lower right quadrant:

What obstacles keep me from my goals?

How healthy am I?

Am I financially healthy?

What external factors may be threatening me?

Most importantly, be honest with yourself. The results can only help if complete and total honesty exists.

After you have completed the analysis, make a plan to:

Capitalize on the strengths you already enjoy

Address a weakness that you believe will help you the most when corrected or minimized

Be sure to take advantage of your opportunities

Deal with threats to minimize their impact on your life

The focal point of this exercise is to help you become more successful in both your personal and professional life. Share your results with your Personal Partner and together, the two of you can help you improve and "save" your lives.