SWOT analysis is a method of analysis proposed a management professor at the University of San Francisco. Many companies use it in marketing strategies and product planning. As the Chinese old saying goes:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
SWOT analysis consists of four words: strength, weakness, opportunity and threat, which can help companies look at themselves at the same time. Internal and external conditions help to clarify the direction of thinking. Here is an example for SWOT Analysis of Tesla: