What is SOR Analysis?

As I've published in December, 2004, SOR Analysis is a hybrid of SWOT analysis, an application typically used to assess the business positioning of an organization. The hybrid is a tool that we can use to determine our strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks to success. SWOT analysis, meaning "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats" is known to have been developed by Albert Humphrey who used it in a research project in the 1960s at Stanford University. The device has been widely used to measure business, ideas, and proposals.

Albert Humphrey advocated that the six categories were addressed in SWOT analysis:

1. Product (what are we selling?)
2. Process (how are we selling it?)
3. Customer (to whom are we selling it?)
4. Distribution (how does it reach them?)
5. Finance (what are the prices, costs and investments?)
6. Administration (and how do we manage all this?)

In SOR Analysis, we can narrow these to "product, process, and people" for which "strengths, opportunities, and threats" can be examined in each case. Simplification is key in using measurement and analysis devices, or people won't readily use them.

1. Product (what and why)
2. Process (how and when)
3. People (who and where)

Product is the offering. Process includes distribution and costs. People includes customers and administration.

Strengths, Opportunities, and Roadblocks to Success

What is success and how does one analyze strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks in meeting such objective? Success is the opposite of failure, and it is the outcome to meeting an objective. Once goals are established toward meeting an objective, we are reduced to understanding what it takes to get them accomplished. SOR Analysis can help. SOR Analysis is a hybrid of SWOT analysis. The idea is to determine favorable and unfavorable internal and external factors that either support or block success. The tool is still useful, but there may be a better way to apply the concept that is more universal. And converting SWOT to SOR is easy. Begin with SWOT and merge W + T as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 2 and Figure 3 depict the hybrid SOR Analysis models, demonstrating how strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks each play a part in defining internal, external, and eternal parameters for success. In SOR Analysis these parameters or constraints can be used in the private, professional, and public arenas and not just for business analysis. SOR Analysis is far more versatile.

Triangulating the SWOT approach, enlisting the power of three provides another perspective on analyzing the same components. For instance, it enables us to apply the components in a balanced approach. We can spend our time looking closely at each part of SOR Analysis, but ultimately there needs to be an emphasis placed on balancing our opportunities.

The following SOR Analysis models enable us to better understand how strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks are interrelated. Figure 2 reveals there is an overlap between and among our strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks.

Figure 4. Analysis Example

For help on constructing your own SOR Analysis try use my free SOR Analysis Worksheet. This model can be used for planning, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Where do your opportunities fall along the continuum between your strengths and roadblocks? Strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks are elements of balance as depicted in the Balanced SOR Card in Figure 5 & Figure 6.

Strengths can be futile if we have no opportunities to test them or to put them to good use. Untested or unchallenged, our strengths can diminish over time. SOR Analysis is about leveraging opportunities.

Finding and recognizing opportunities is key in maintaining a balanced SOR card. As such SOR Analysis can be considered an opportunities-based intervention. 

Using SOR Analysis as an intervention is a two-fold application. First this tool can be used to determine the strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks that exist for any undertaking in a kind of feasibility study. It can also be used to provide a solution to gaps in performance in which the strengths-to-roadblocks equation is a contributory factor. In this event, providing opportunities to increase strengths and/or to diminish roadblocks is the intervention.

Learning to think in terms of finding suitable opportunities is not our only need. We also need to be able to recognize opportunities when they occur and we need to know how to put those opportunities to good use. Opportunities abound when you know how to unearth them. This is the critical component to success as we have evidenced in the imbalanced SOR card model. Breaking out roadblocks by its components of internal weaknesses, external threats, and eternal disabilities enables a better image of where opportunities lie.

The Journey

This section provides a historical account of my use of SOR Analysis:

While working at Knoll Pharmaceuticals, BASF in 1996, I used strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks in strategic planning. My statement in the section on PowerPoint slides concerning R&D Functional Plan in the section on “Leveraging resources across BASF Pharma” I stated that the company needed to “evaluate the existing development resources and identify strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks” to acquiring resources as provided in Figure 4.

Figure 4. R&D Functional Plan

Here is a letter from a project manager in Strategic Planning at Knoll Pharmaceuticals, BASF, dated July 19, 1996 that I used in  a course I was taking. The letter states that my work with the department required that have a good understanding of planning and problem solving analysis. The letter states, "In one instance she was able to assist our department in the development of a simple version of an analysis method we used in our strategic planning. Her idea was to use a three item application instead of four. We haven't yet used it, but we view this and other examples as a positive improvement effort." This was the SWOT analysis device that I modified into three parts, leading to the development of SOR Analysis.

I have applied SOR Analysis to examining the strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks to my success in the leadership realm, resulting from my 1998 paper on enlightened leadership. I also used the string of terms, "strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks" in my 1999 manuscript, “Understanding Distance Education" as depicted in Figures 5-7.

		Figure 5 depicts my use of SOR (strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks) on Page 53 of my manuscript on distance education in a section titled, "Profile of the Distance Learner." The section states, "In general, self-directed learners are likely to analyze their strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks to success."
Figure 5. Page 53 of Manuscript
		Figure 6 depicts my use of this string of terms on Page 63 of the same section. The section states, "Learners need to recognize their strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks."
Figure 6. Page 63 of Manuscript
		Figure 7 depicts my use of this string of terms on Page 84 in a section titled, "Managing Distance Education." This lists a "five-step process for effective daily planning," which includes "analyze your strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks."
Figure 7. Page 84 of Manuscript

Also in 1998, I participated in a career development program in which we used the card sorting tool by Leadership Architect®. We were each provided with a report on our strengths and weaknesses in a leadership role. Afterward, I asked for competency and remedy summaries for some of the core competencies that came up in which I had the greatest strengths. The following is my e-mail to "Fran" who worked in the career development program at BASF. This was in order to take advantage of the opportunity afforded me through this department. I had already become familiar with SOR properties in my previous department, so I was cognoscente of the value in not only determining one's strengths and roadblocks to success, but in recognizing the opportunities that exist associated with the ability to enhance one's strengths and overcome one's weaknesses.

Here are some exchanges in which I was working with someone on a collaborative writing project concerning SOR Analysis before I created its final name and meaning. Originally, I used the string of terms "strengths, opportunities, and roadblocks" as evidenced in Figures 4-7. With this individual we used the string of terms, "strengths, opportunities, and restrictions." I used the model name, "SOR Triangulation Analysis" to define the collaborative project. Along with final establishment of the name "SOR Analysis" I have returned to applying my original terminology, using "roadblocks" to represent "weaknesses and threats" that occur in the traditional SWOT Analysis model.

I used such devices in my TQM/TQL training in the 1990s and I taught "Strategic Management" in 2000, so I am familiar with such devices. I also taught "Quantitative Analysis for Management" in which we utilized the decision tree. Figure 8 depicts material used in the course I taught in which a module addressed SWOT Analysis. The material states, "After SWOT has been performed, a cause and effect diagram can be produced to pinpoint the cause of the problem, and then flowcharting to understand the process involved."

Figure 8. Material from 570 Strategic Management

Here is a snippet from a handwritten assignment submission from a student:

Here is a testimonial from a student:

As a student in Dr. Bender's Strategic Management course I can recall her sharing her ideas about SWOT analysis. She introduced the idea of a hybrid formula in which she suggested merging "weaknesses and threats" as simply constraints or roadblocks to success. Dr. Bender was among the course instructors that I remember, due to her level of devotion to her students. She was equally helpful in my completion of my Capstone Project. — B. Westerbeek (November, 2000)

Figure 9 is a snippet of a previous publications that were housed at this site:

Figure 9. Previous Article

Sources

Bender, S. L. (2006). SOR Analysis: An Opportunities-Based Intervention. [sharonbender.com]