Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool
University of California, Berkeley-Haas collectionThe case explores the remarkable rise of Coach Teri McKeever to the top of a sport traditionally dominated by male coaches. Her success is driven by an unorthodox leadership and motivational style that emphasizes a growth mindset of self-improvement. She is an influential innovator, mentor, and trailblazer who challenged long entrenched methods of training and overcame criticisms and setbacks to change the face of swim training today. "Coach McKeever (A): Unorthodox Leadership Lessons From the Pool" examines McKeever's leadership philosophy and controversial motivational strategies that she uses to develop and sustain high-level performers. Case A is designed to elicit discussion about how McKeever's leadership and motivational strategies can be applied to organizations today and how managers can use similar tools to develop high-performing employees in their organizations.
Swot Analysis of "Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool" written by Holly Schroth includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mckeever Motivational facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Innovation, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mckeever Motivational, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mckeever Motivational 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mckeever Motivational
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mckeever Motivational
Strengths Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mckeever Motivational in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mckeever Motivational digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mckeever Motivational has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mckeever Motivational 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mckeever Motivational 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Mckeever Motivational has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mckeever Motivational to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Mckeever Motivational has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mckeever Motivational is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mckeever Motivational is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mckeever Motivational has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Mckeever Motivational 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 Holly Schroth 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.
Learning organization
- Mckeever Motivational 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 Mckeever Motivational is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mckeever Motivational has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mckeever Motivational has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mckeever Motivational to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mckeever Motivational to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mckeever Motivational 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 - Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mckeever Motivational has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool, it seems that the employees of Mckeever Motivational 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Mckeever Motivational 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mckeever Motivational 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mckeever Motivational has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mckeever Motivational 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mckeever Motivational has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Mckeever Motivational even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mckeever Motivational is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Holly Schroth suggests that, Mckeever Motivational 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.
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 Mckeever Motivational supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mckeever Motivational vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool | 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mckeever Motivational can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mckeever Motivational has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mckeever Motivational to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool case study. Mckeever Motivational can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Mckeever Motivational can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mckeever Motivational 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mckeever Motivational can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mckeever Motivational operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mckeever Motivational 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Mckeever Motivational can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mckeever Motivational can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mckeever Motivational to increase its market reach. Mckeever Motivational 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mckeever Motivational in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Mckeever Motivational can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mckeever Motivational can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mckeever Motivational 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 Mckeever Motivational to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool are -
Regulatory challenges
– Mckeever Motivational 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mckeever Motivational is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool, Mckeever Motivational may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mckeever Motivational with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mckeever Motivational 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Mckeever Motivational business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Mckeever Motivational
– 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 Mckeever Motivational.
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. Mckeever Motivational needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Mckeever Motivational.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mckeever Motivational demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Mckeever Motivational will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Environmental challenges
– Mckeever Motivational 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. Mckeever Motivational can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mckeever Motivational has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mckeever Motivational needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Coach McKeever: Unorthodox Leadership Lessons from the Pool 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 Mckeever Motivational needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
