The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider
Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs have exceled at demonstrating a highly valuable skill: spotting unmet market needs and figuring out how to serve them profitably. In short, they excel at anticipation. The authors describe three techniques for 'tuning in' to customer signals in order to better anticipate how tastes and needs are changing. They also describe the perils of 'tunnel vision' and provide three techniques for avoiding it.
Swot Analysis of "The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider" written by Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Steven Krupp includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Exceled Describe facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Strategic thinking and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Exceled Describe, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Exceled Describe operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Exceled Describe
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Exceled Describe
Strengths The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Exceled Describe in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Exceled Describe is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Innovation driven organization
– Exceled Describe is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Exceled Describe to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Exceled Describe to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Exceled Describe has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Exceled Describe to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Exceled Describe has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Exceled Describe is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Exceled Describe is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Exceled Describe is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Exceled Describe in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Exceled Describe is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Steven Krupp can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Exceled Describe has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Exceled Describe are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Exceled Describe
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Exceled Describe does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Exceled Describe has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Steven Krupp suggests that, Exceled Describe is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider, is just above the industry average. Exceled Describe needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider, it seems that the employees of Exceled Describe don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Exceled Describe supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Exceled Describe vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Exceled Describe has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Exceled Describe has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider HBR case study mentions - Exceled Describe takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Exceled Describe is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Exceled Describe 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Exceled Describe is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Exceled Describe needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Exceled Describe to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Exceled Describe can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Exceled Describe can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Exceled Describe to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Exceled Describe has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Exceled Describe to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Exceled Describe can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Exceled Describe to increase its market reach. Exceled Describe will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Exceled Describe can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Exceled Describe can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Exceled Describe has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Exceled Describe can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Exceled Describe in the consumer business. Now Exceled Describe can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Exceled Describe can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Exceled Describe in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Exceled Describe to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Exceled Describe to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider are -
Regulatory challenges
– Exceled Describe needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Exceled Describe can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Exceled Describe.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Exceled Describe is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Exceled Describe can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Exceled Describe in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Exceled Describe with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Exceled Describe needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Exceled Describe needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Exceled Describe can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider, Exceled Describe may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Increasing wage structure of Exceled Describe
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Exceled Describe.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Exceled Describe in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Exceled Describe high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of The Anticipatory Leader: How to See Sooner and Scan Wider is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Exceled Describe needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
