The POUT tool

(see other keywords and resources)

from SWOT to POUT

The Tool's Purpose

• SWOT analysis is a well known (and helpful) managerial tool but it can precipitate a negative mindset.
• It is an acronym that stands for  STRENGTHS,  WEAKNESSES,  OPPORTUNITIES and  THREATS
• If people perceive something as a danger or threat (rather than a useful challenge) their blood vessels etc. contract.
• This physiological change may impede their ability to think in a constructive and affirmative way.
• We wanted to create a tool that offers a more creative and opportunistic frame of reference
• If successful, users would find themselves occupying a more serendipitous space of conjecture
• This does not mean that 'Threats' or 'Weaknesses' do not exist.
• Our tool is not a panacea for every situation - more for creative, opportunity-finding phases of operation.
• Others have found it practically helpful and enjoyable to use

The Tool's Process

• An alternative to SWOT is POUT
• Each letter has an alternative meaning

POUT in 2 phases

POUT in phase 1	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.
P  Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	O  Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	U  Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	T
PREDICAMENT	OPPORTUNITIES	UNNOTICED	TRIGGERS
map your situation	what does it reveal?	who can see clearest?	What makes u feel better?
Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.
POUT in phase 2	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.	Plugin Image Server does not support image manipulation.
P	O	U	T
POTENTIAL	OUTCOME	UNNAMEABLE	TRANSFORMATIVE
map your future	what is your dream?	can u picture / sing it?	how many changes?

• There are also alternative ways to arrange these four letters, 
• Its use is straightforward and needs little expert introduction
• Context/conditions for use

An Example

 

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POUT mapped as a quadrant with 2 (X-Y) axes

• The values of the X axis can be made to correspond to Left=evaluative and Right=creative
• The values of the right axis can be made to denote Bottom=ambiguous values and Top=explicit values
• This equates it with our system of 'working styles, i.e. where:

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P=Envisioning

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O=Pushing-Doing

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U=New Knowing

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T=Languaging  

Provenance

• SWOT was created by Albert Humphrey when working at the Stanford Research Institute.
• A joke by Hannah Jones inspired the acronym 'POUT'