Goodbye SWOT! Four Steps to Take Your Best Shot!

For decades, SWOT—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats—has been a go-to tool for strategic planning. But for today’s mid-market companies focused on future revenue and EBITDA growth, SWOT often results in long, unfocused lists that emphasizes the present over the future.

That’s why our team at Shepherd Advisors developed SHOT : Superpowers, Holdbacks, Options, and Torpedoes. SHOT reframes strategy in more dynamic terms—focusing on what drives future success by leveraging strengths, identifying constraints, exploring growth paths, and mitigating risks.

SHOT isn’t a strategy in and of itself, but it does provide a more solid framework and the leverage that gives leadership teams the critical insights they need to build one. We are ready to say “goodbye” to SWOT and hello to …

SHOT : Superpowers, Holdbacks, Options, Torpedoes

Let’s break down SWOT and Shepherd’s SHOT for greater clarity:

Step 1: Strengths VS. Superpowers

SWOT: Strengths

• Focus: What is the company currently good at?

• Common Pitfall: Tends to generate lists of general positives (e.g., “great customer service” or “strong team”) without prioritization or strategic focus.

SHOT: Superpowers

• Focus: What are the superpowers that set your firm apart and really fuel growth?

• Approach: Start with your strengths, but filter for the 3–5 that are truly unique and impactful—your superpowers.

• Why It’s Better: Superpowers are strengths that create real competitive advantage. They aren’t just what you do well—they’re what moves the needle. Even if they aren’t flawless, they are potent drivers of future performance.

A superpower doesn’t have to be x-ray vision, mind reading, or leaping tall buildings in a single bound. But it does have to be a key differentiator—something that makes the company really stand apart from the rest and that drives value. You don’t have to be exceptionally good at your superpower. It just must matter in how it vigorously supports growth going forward.

Step 2: Weaknesses VS. Holdbacks

SWOT: Weaknesses

• Focus: Where isn’t the company doing well today?

• Common Pitfall: Can lead to generic or surface-level observations about areas to improve without tying them to strategic outcomes.

SHOT: Holdbacks

• Focus: What is holding your team back from accelerating growth?

• Approach: Identify the friction points—whether cultural, operational, or systemic—that must be addressed to accelerate growth. Then focus the list to the 3–5 most critical growth inhibitors.

• Why It’s Better: Holdbacks go beyond identifying flaws—they highlight what’s urgent to change. They’re framed not as weaknesses to accept, but practices to stop and barriers to eliminate.

  
  

Holdbacks are the ways companies “get in their own way,” block, and self-sabotage growth. They can include poor attitudes, dysfunctional company culture, outdated technologies, and legacy practices that need to change but haven’t yet been addressed. Anything your team needs to work around or mitigate; those are your holdbacks.

Step 3: Opportunities VS. Options

SWOT: Opportunities

• Focus: What’s happening out there that the company might take advantage of?

• Common Pitfall: Often results in a scattered list of possibilities without clear alignment to company strengths or strategic focus.

SHOT: Options

• Focus: What are the growth options that are worth investing in to accelerate success?

• Approach: Start with a wide-angle brainstorm of potential growth directions (e.g., new markets, products, models), then narrow to the 3–5 most promising options—your high-priority “growth initiatives.”

• Why It’s Better: Options aren’t just “what’s possible”—they’re strategic choices potentially worth betting on. SHOT forces leadership to define what and why certain paths make sense and deserve focus, funding, and follow-through.

If holdbacks are like one foot on the brake, growth options step on the gas. We help leadership first identify many different growth opportunities that they could bet on. New products, new markets, new business models, new customer types— what else? Then we ask, especially given the firm’s superpowers, what new “pockets of opportunity” are worth talking about going forward?

Step 4: Threats VS. Torpedoes

SWOT: Threats

• Focus: What are the general risks or uncertainties in the environment?

• Common Pitfall: Often too broad, vague, or theoretical—creating awareness without action (e.g., “economic downturn,” “increased competition”).

SHOT: Torpedoes

• Focus: If it happens, what could sink our ability to grow?

• Approach: Identify 2–4 critical risks that truly keep leadership up at night. Then consider what contingencies or “evasive actions” or pivots might be needed.

• Why It’s Better: Torpedoes, if they appear, demand urgency and focus. Unlike abstract threats, they force clear-eyed strategic planning and resilience-building.

Threats can be vague or abstract; torpedoes are specific external challenges that would critically impair an organization’s ability to grow. A torpedo may not be imminent, but it will keep the CEO up at night. Torpedoes could be regulatory changes, technological advances, changes in customer needs, or market disruptions happening “over there” that could show up “right here.”

Keep in mind, torpedoes don’t just make life difficult; they can sink the company. It is important for leadership teams to evaluate the risk and plan the contingencies and even pivots to keep the company afloat.

When and how do we engage SHOT ?

To help companies develop their growth-focused strategies, we leverage SHOT upfront as part of the Current Realities step of our GAMEPlan process. This allows team members to build a common understanding right out of the gate and sharpen everyone’s thinking about how to position for future success.

When we sequence together, the team develops a grounded story of future success in four steps:

1. Discover superpowers to build upon and accelerate strategic growth.

2. Diagnose holdbacks that are in the way and need particular attention, so the strategy doesn’t get derailed.

3. Pinpoint options that are really worth investing more attention into and integrating into an overall growth strategy and future success.

4. Identify torpedoes that must be monitored to keep the strategy.

   
   

Brainstorming, then shortlisting, brainstorming, then shortlisting for more focus— every piece builds on the one before. Superpowers and holdbacks inform the best options, and torpedoes keep the team from being blindsided by circumstances that could derail it.

Building a growth strategy? Leverage your best SHOT !

We hope you see how Shepherd Advisor’s SHOT improves strategic thinking and sets the stage for better strategic outcomes.

Reach out to learn more about how we help leadership teams use SHOT and other tools to formulate better successful growth-oriented strategies.

STRATEGYMatters