A SOAR analysis is what you reach for when your strategy sessions keep ending in a long list of weaknesses and threats, and nobody walks out of the room feeling like doing anything about them. You’ve done the SWOT. You’ve named the load-shedding risk, the rand, the competitor who undercuts you. Then Monday comes and the list goes into a folder.
SOAR, however, flips the starting point. Instead of cataloguing what’s wrong, you build strategy from what already works, where the real openings are, what your team wants the business to become and how you’ll measure it.
In this guide you’ll see how SOAR differs from SWOT, when each one earns its place, a worked example for a typical SA manufacturer, and a simple way to turn the output into actions your team will actually track.
What is a SOAR analysis?
SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results. It’s a strategic planning framework that grew out of Appreciative Inquiry, an approach to change that starts with what an organisation does well.
The model is also closely linked to Jacqueline Stavros and colleagues. In fact, a 2022 paper in Frontiers in Psychology by Cole, Stavros and co-authors notes that practitioners have used SOAR for strategic thinking and planning since 2000. The same paper tested a 12-item SOAR scale on 285 working professionals and found it reliable across all four areas.
Here’s what each letter asks:
- Strengths: What are we genuinely good at, and what do customers value most about us?
- Opportunities: Where are the openings in our market that our strengths fit?
- Aspirations: What do we want to be known for in three to five years?
- Results: How will we know we’re getting there? Which numbers will move?
The first two letters look at the present. The last two, meanwhile, look forward. As a result, a SOAR session naturally ends with targets, which is where most SWOT sessions fall short.
SOAR vs SWOT: the key differences
SWOT is still useful, and we’ve covered how to run an effective SWOT analysis before. However, the two tools answer different questions.
| Feature | SWOT | SOAR |
|---|---|---|
| Starting question | Where are we exposed? | What’s working, and how do we build on it? |
| Focus | Internal weaknesses and external threats | Strengths, openings and a shared ambition |
| Time frame | Mostly present | Present and future |
| Who’s in the room | Usually owner and senior managers | Wider team, sometimes key customers or suppliers |
| Typical output | A four-box list | An aspiration statement plus measurable results |
| Best used for | Risk reviews, funding applications, due diligence | Annual planning, growth plans, team buy-in |
| Main risk | Long lists with no follow-through | Ignoring real threats if facilitated badly |
So SOAR isn’t a softer SWOT. It’s a different job. SWOT protects the business, while SOAR points it somewhere.
Why a strengths-based approach works for SMEs
Most owners of established SMEs don’t lack ideas. Instead, they lack a team that’s pulling in the same direction. A strengths-based conversation helps because people commit to what they helped shape.
The evidence on strengths is strong. Gallup studied strengths-based development across 49,495 business units and 1.2 million employees. It found that 90% of the workgroups in the study saw profit increases of 14% to 29% after strengths interventions.
The same Gallup research found that 67% of employees who strongly agree their manager focuses on their strengths are engaged. When employees disagree with that statement, only 2% are engaged. That’s a big gap, especially for something as simple as the questions you ask.
There’s also an execution angle. Research published in Harvard Business Review, based on nearly 8,000 managers in more than 250 companies, found that only 55% of middle managers could name even one of their company’s top five priorities. A SOAR session with the wider team goes straight at that problem, because the people who must execute the plan help write it.
How to run a SOAR analysis in one workshop
Still, you don’t need a two-day offsite. For a business of 20 to 100 people, a focused three-hour session with eight to twelve people works well. Here’s a simple running order.
- Set up (15 minutes). Share last year’s key numbers first. That keeps the conversation grounded rather than wishful.
- Strengths (40 minutes). Ask for stories. “Tell me about a time a customer chose us over a cheaper option. Why?” Then group the answers into themes.
- Opportunities (40 minutes). Look outward. Which customer segments, products or regions fit the strengths you just named? Our competitor analysis framework helps here.
- Aspirations (30 minutes). Ask each person to finish the sentence “In three years, we are the business that…”. Then combine the answers into one statement.
- Results (45 minutes). Turn the aspiration into three to five measurable targets with owners and dates.
- Close (10 minutes). Agree who writes it up and when the first review happens.
That said, the facilitator matters. If the owner runs it, people tend to say what the owner wants to hear. So an outside advisor or a trusted senior manager usually gets more honest answers.
SOAR analysis example: a Durban engineering firm
Picture a Durban engineering firm with 45 staff and R38 million in turnover. It mainly does maintenance and fabrication work for manufacturers and the port. Here’s how its SOAR could look.
| Area | What the team said |
|---|---|
| Strengths | Fast breakdown response (on site within four hours), skilled coded welders, 20-year relationships with three anchor clients, strong safety record |
| Opportunities | Planned maintenance contracts for mid-sized food manufacturers in the KZN corridor; demand for solar mounting structures; clients wanting fewer, more reliable suppliers |
| Aspirations | “By 2029, we’re the first call for planned maintenance for food and beverage plants between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.” |
| Results | Planned maintenance revenue from 15% to 40% of turnover; eight new contract clients; top three clients below 45% of revenue; breakdown response kept under four hours |
Notice what happened. The team didn’t ignore the risk of relying on three big clients. Instead, it turned that risk into a result they could measure. That’s the point where SOAR and good risk thinking meet.
Also notice how specific the results are. “Grow the business” wouldn’t survive the first busy month. “Eight new contract clients” gives the sales team something to chase every week.
Not sure whether your strategy is clear enough for your team to act on? Take the free Business Health Check. It takes about 3 minutes, covers 10 questions and shows how your strategic direction scores next to the other areas of your business.
Common SOAR mistakes (and how to avoid them)
SOAR is easy to learn and easy to get wrong. These are the traps we see most often.
- Treating it as a feel-good session. Strengths need evidence. If you claim “great service”, check your repeat business and complaints first.
- Skipping the threats entirely. SOAR doesn’t forbid risk talk. For example, you can test every opportunity with one question: “What could stop this?”
- Vague aspirations. “Be the best in our industry” means nothing to a workshop foreman. Name the customer, the place and the time frame.
- Results with no owner. Every result needs one person’s name next to it, not a department.
- No link to the budget. The HBR research above found that only 11% of managers believed all their company’s strategic priorities had the money and people needed. So check the numbers before you sign off the plan.
From SOAR to action: making the results stick
A SOAR workshop is only as good as what happens in the following 90 days. This is where most planning falls over, whatever tool you use.
Firstly, turn each result into a small set of goals. Our guide to SMART goals examples for business shows how to make them specific enough to track. Then break each goal into weekly tasks using an action plan template, so the work lands in people’s diaries.
Then set a rhythm. A short weekly check-in on actions and a monthly look at the results table keeps the plan alive. Finally, revisit the whole SOAR once a year, or sooner if the market shifts sharply.
For advisors running SOAR with clients, the same rule applies. The workshop is usually the easy part, while the follow-through is harder. Your value shows up in the follow-through, which is why many consultants now track client actions and results in one shared place.
Frequently asked questions
What does SOAR stand for in business?
SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results. It’s a strategic planning framework based on Appreciative Inquiry. Teams identify what the business does well and where the openings are, then agree a shared ambition and the measurable results that will show progress. It’s often used instead of SWOT, or alongside it.
Is SOAR better than SWOT?
Neither is better in every case. SWOT is stronger for risk reviews, funding applications and due diligence, because it forces you to name weaknesses and threats. SOAR works better for annual planning and team buy-in, because it ends with aspirations and measurable results. Many SMEs use SWOT for a risk check, then SOAR to set direction.
Who should take part in a SOAR analysis?
Include the owner, senior managers and a few people from the front line, such as a supervisor, a salesperson and someone from operations. Eight to twelve people works well for most SMEs. Some businesses also invite a key customer or supplier to the strengths discussion, because outsiders often see strengths the team takes for granted.
How often should you do a SOAR analysis?
Run a full SOAR review once a year as part of annual planning. Then review the Results section monthly or quarterly against your actual numbers. If something big changes, such as losing a major client, a new competitor or a sharp currency move, revisit the Opportunities and Aspirations sections sooner rather than waiting for the annual cycle.
Your next step: turn strengths into a plan
This week, pull together three or four people and spend 30 minutes on one question: “Why do our best customers choose us?” Write the answers down. That’s the Strengths box of your first SOAR analysis, and it’s usually more revealing than owners expect.
If you’d like to see where your strategy and execution stand today, take the free Business Health Check. If you want help facilitating a SOAR session and turning it into a plan your team tracks, book a 30-minute call. You can also see how Edvysor for SMEs keeps goals, actions and results in one place, or how Edvysor for consultants helps advisors follow through with clients.
Last updated: 24 September 2026
