MBA Boot Camp: Strategic Frameworks (8.3)
Concepts & Vocabulary
SWOT Analysis: A framework for evaluating a company's internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities and Threats.
PESTLE Analysis: A framework for analyzing the macro-environmental factors that affect a business: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental.
Core Lesson: Looking Inside and Outside
Before an executive can write a strategy, they must diagnose the current reality.
PESTLE looks at the outside world. You cannot control these factors; you can only react to them. (e.g., A new Legal privacy law destroys a tech company's ad model, or a Social trend toward veganism forces a fast-food chain to adapt).
SWOT looks at both.
Strengths/Weaknesses are internal (your brand, your cash reserves, your terrible supply chain).
Opportunities/Threats are external (a competitor going bankrupt, a looming recession).
The MBA Marketing Insight: Most people do SWOT poorly by just making bulleted lists. A true strategist connects them. You ask: "How can we use Strength A to capitalize on Opportunity B? How can we fix Weakness C before Threat D destroys us?"
Application & Reflection
SWOT a Brand: Pick a well-known struggling company (e.g., Peloton, WeWork, or a dying mall retailer). Write down one major internal Weakness they have, and one major external Threat (from the PESTLE environment) that is making that weakness even worse.
