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November 11, 2026by Steff Vanhaverbeke

Your SWOT only starts after the four lists

Four sheets on the wall, or four columns in a document. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, neatly filled in with post-its in four colours. You might have spent a whole afternoon on it, together with your team. And yet, afterwards, you do not really know what to do with it. It feels like finished work, but nobody knows what needs to change on Monday.

In a training course on strategic thinking, I asked who already knew the SWOT analysis. A few participants had already worked with it. What most people call a SWOT is actually just the first step. I see people say that their four lists are ready, and then they stop. After that, the real exercise begins, and it is called the confrontation matrix.

Copy the prompt at the bottom of this article. With it, you let your AI guide you through the confrontation matrix, with yourself at the wheel.

What is in your four lists

First, let us set the scene. Strengths and weaknesses are your internal analysis. Those are things that lie within your circle of control. You are good at summarising, you are good at presenting, or you might have a blind spot. That can be about yourself, about your team or about your entire organisation.

Opportunities and threats come from the outside. A technological evolution, or something you see happening in the market. You have no hand in that yourself, but it is coming your way.

Making those lists is actually not that difficult. You just have to look for your sources and your data, and then you write down what you see. It is also the least challenging part of the whole exercise. Yet that is exactly the part where most people spend their afternoon.

How to put the lists against each other

In the confrontation matrix, you will weigh your internal and external factors against each other. I would first make a top three per category. That keeps it manageable. Then you ask the same question for each combination. To what extent does this strength help us to seize that opportunity? And to what extent does this weakness hold us back?

You give each combination a score on a scale from minus two to plus two, like in a survey. Zero is neutral. Plus two is a strongly desired effect, minus two a strongly undesired effect. I put those scores in an Excel myself and give them a colour, because then you immediately see where it gets warm. When you do that for the first time, you will notice that some combinations are immediately clear and others are not at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is a confrontation matrix?

It is the second step of a SWOT analysis. You put your top three strengths and weaknesses against your top three opportunities and threats. For each combination, you estimate what effect one factor has on the other.

Is a SWOT without data not too subjective?

It remains an estimate. That is why it is best to do them with a few people who challenge your assumptions. The value lies mainly in the conversation you have together.

What do I do with the four quadrants?

Each quadrant gives priorities: where you step on the gas, where you defend yourself, what you clean up and what you must tackle to survive. Together they form your action plan.

Where can I practise strategic thinking?

In 'Future Thinking', you work with goals, options and strategy. Look at Workshops & Events, or follow the Future Thinking course at your own pace.

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