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Why your best ideas will fail – and how the SWOT analysis method you finally brings clarity
Have you ever wondered why some run your best ideas in the Sand, while others stand out with almost no effort? This question has been with me for years – in my work as an artist, teacher, and someone who navigates between Vision and reality. Exactly I will write about it in my post about creative resistance: 👉 https://rolandwegerer.at/kreative-resilienz-widerstand-als-ressource/
Imagine you could have a kind of x-ray glasses for your projects. A pair of glasses, which shows you where your Foundation is stable and where it secretly crumbling. These glasses exist. And it is much less spectacular than you think.
🔍 What is the SWOT analysis method is really – and why you Creative helps
The SWOT analysis is a classic strategic planning. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, – it sounds like business administration‑lecture, but for us Creative it is a tool to radical self-perception.
The Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon describes the SWOT as a tool for determining a position that aligns the internal factors with external influences. That's exactly what I do, when I work on new Media Art projects:
- What can I really technical? (Strengths)
- Where I lack the Budget or Know‑how? (Weaknesses)
- What Festivals or Trends, just open doors? (Opportunities)
- What is the AI developments could overtake my project? (Risks)
If you want to understand how ideas evolve and tires, take a look at my creative Pipeline: 👉 https://rolandwegerer.at/kreativitaets-pipeline/
🧩 The four pillars of your strategy
Strengths (Strengths)
What's going on internally, really good? Examples: Expertise, Network, Reputation, And Resources.
Weaknesses (Weaknesses)
Where does it hurt? Examples: lack of time, lack of technology, lack of visibility.
Opportunities (Opportunities)
What Trends can you play in the cards? Examples: new markets, funding programmes, and social developments.
Risks (Threats)
What could be dangerous? Examples: changes in law, competition, technological leaps.
Mnemonic: Strengths & weaknesses are internal. Opportunities & threats are external.
⚠️ Why most of them fail in the SWOT analysis method
Many people fill in the table and then put in the drawer. This is like a Fitness subscription, without any Training.
The true value is in the Link of the four fields. The Harvard Business Review describes strategy as a hypothesis that needs to be constantly tested on: 👉 https://hbr.org/2007/01/the-secrets-to-successful-strategy
Transferred to SWOT means:
- SO strategy (attack): How do you use your Strengths to opportunities to exploit?
- WT strategy (defense): How to prevent your weaknesses + external risks to the Knock‑out?
If you're wondering how you deal with setbacks, can, it helps you to my article on the art of failure in a global comparison: 👉 https://rolandwegerer.at/die-kunst-des-scheiterns-im-globalen-vergleich/
🧱 Your template: So you put the SWOT analysis method correctly
A sheet of paper or open take a new document. Carrying in the four fields, each a maximum of three points a. Reduction creates clarity.
| Internal / External | Opportunities (Opportunities) | Risks (Threats) |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Remove: - How do you use your Power for new ways? | Hedge: How do you protect your Strengths against the dangers? |
| Weaknesses | To catch up: What Chance will help you to eliminate weaknesses? | Avoid: Where are you in an extremely vulnerable position? |
💡 Personal Comment
The weaknesses brutally honest. There is no-one sees you, except your future success.
If you want to delve deeper into the mental side, read my post about self-reflection as a future skill: 👉 https://rolandwegerer.at/selbstreflexion-ueben/
🧪 Hands-On: The 10‑Minutes‑Check
- Sit down.
- Write-per Quadrant three points on.
- Stop as soon as you're thinking.
- Read everything out loud.
- Mark the most surprising realization.
If you're wondering how you control your perception of time and creative energy, helps you in this article: 👉 https://rolandwegerer.at/subjektives-zeitempfinden/
A scientifically based Overview of the psychology of creativity is 👉here: https://www.apa.org/topics/creativity
🎯 Conclusion: the answer to The question from the beginning
Why projects fail? Not due to lack of ideas. But because of a lack of self-awareness in the context of the environment.
The SWOT analysis method is forcing you to take the head out of the Sand. Connects you with your inner world with the hard facts of the outside world – and that's exactly where the real strategy.
Now you're in: What is the risk you have overlooked in your last project?I'm curious of your experiences!
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