Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue
After reading some confusing management texts for an Executive MBA course he is taking, a manager falls asleep. He dreams that he is standing before a beautiful classical-style building, within which a man sits on some stones, chatting with three younger men. The manager is drawn to the seated figure and, to his delight, realizes that it is Socrates. He approaches him with a longstanding preoccupation and a discussion ensues regarding what 'leadership' really is.
Swot Analysis of "Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue" written by Danny Miller, Cyrille Sardais includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Socratic Preoccupation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leading teams and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Socratic Preoccupation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Socratic Preoccupation 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Socratic Preoccupation
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 Socratic Preoccupation
Strengths Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Socratic Preoccupation in Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Socratic Preoccupation 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 Danny Miller, Cyrille Sardais 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Socratic Preoccupation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Socratic Preoccupation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Socratic Preoccupation has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Socratic Preoccupation is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Socratic Preoccupation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Socratic Preoccupation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Socratic Preoccupation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Socratic Preoccupation in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Socratic Preoccupation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Socratic Preoccupation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Socratic Preoccupation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Socratic Preoccupation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Organizational Resilience of Socratic Preoccupation
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Socratic Preoccupation does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Socratic Preoccupation 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. Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue, it seems that the employees of Socratic Preoccupation 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Socratic Preoccupation has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Socratic Preoccupation is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue HBR case study mentions - Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue, in the dynamic environment Socratic Preoccupation has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Socratic Preoccupation has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Socratic Preoccupation 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Danny Miller, Cyrille Sardais suggests that, Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Socratic Preoccupation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Socratic Preoccupation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue | 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Socratic Preoccupation can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Socratic Preoccupation 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Socratic Preoccupation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Socratic Preoccupation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Socratic Preoccupation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue case study. Socratic Preoccupation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Socratic Preoccupation 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, Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Socratic Preoccupation can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Socratic Preoccupation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Socratic Preoccupation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Socratic Preoccupation 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 Socratic Preoccupation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Socratic Preoccupation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Socratic Preoccupation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Socratic Preoccupation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Socratic Preoccupation can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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 Socratic Preoccupation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Socratic Preoccupation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Socratic Preoccupation 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. Socratic Preoccupation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Socratic Preoccupation 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.
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 Socratic Preoccupation.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Socratic Preoccupation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Socratic Preoccupation is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Socratic Preoccupation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Socratic Preoccupation 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Socratic Preoccupation in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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 Leadership is Not What You Think: A Socratic Dialogue 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 Socratic Preoccupation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
