Interested parties, SWOTs and PESTLE

SME owners and managers, hello.

What do the dreaded words 'interested parties', 'SWOTs' and 'PESTLE analysis' conjure up in your minds? Boring conversations in the boardroom? Dry auditors talking in 'standard jargon'? What is it

even got to do with me and my business? Let me try and relate these to your life.

Interested parties. Your business matters to quite a few people - your staff, your customers, your suppliers, your bank, your board of directors and investors and many others. And they all want something from you. And you try to keep them all happy, correct? They are the interested parties. And you need to decide whose interests are most important for your business to thrive. Understanding who wants what and how to ensure they get it helps you make important decisions and keep everyone on side.

SWOTs - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Can also be called Risks and opportunities. When you look at yourself, you know that you, perhaps, excel at sports and active pursuits, but not as good at writing an essay - you know your personal strengths and weaknesses. Same with your business - you may have a great enthusiastic team but no structured processes allowing you to get the best out of your team. Reflecting on where your power lies and what may knock you off your stride is a very important exercise - if you considered the risk, you will most probably take action to protect yourself from it.

PESTLE - your business does not exist in a vacuum. It is affected by global, regional and local factors - change in government, global political situation, interest rates and inflation, energy prices and many more. These factors are Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental. If you don't keep up with new technologies, you risk being left behind. If you don't know regulations and legislation, you may find yourself in hot water.

Suddenly the dry terms become very real for your business, right? You may say, 'I already consider these every day', and you probably do, to an extent. You may make a mental note when something occurs to you, but do you take considered action based on that thought? Do you look at all of the above in the round and consider them individually and together? Do you take the time to understand where action is most needed?

The structure of a management system allocates space for periodic review of your interested parties and risks/opportunities, bringing your business into perspective for yourself and your management team, who are then better informed, better motivated and able to drive your business objectives.

Management system does not have to be certified, it is there to structure your business first and foremost. And I can help you create, improve or make your management system more relevant to your business. DM me or find me on www.evksystems.co.uk