Try This Exercise to Think Like Your Company's Competitors !

Tip on Strategy . 
Try This Exercise to Think Like Your Company's Competitors ! 

" Sometimes a company’s strengths can quickly turn into weaknesses.
 For example, a small and seemingly unimportant rival might figure out how to use your firm’s size against you ! 

Here’s an exercise to help you look for threats and opportunities where you hadn’t realized they exist.
 First, divide your employees into two teams.
 Ask Team A to list your company’s strengths and Team B to list its weaknesses.
 Then have the teams swap lists. 
Ask Team B to argue that the strengths are actually threats to the organization’s future, and Team A to argue that the weaknesses are opportunities. 

Next, do an external analysis: Ask Team A to list the strengths it sees in your competition, and Team B the weaknesses.
 Again, have the teams swap lists and make the counterarguments. 

The goal of this exercise is to open your, and your employees’, eyes to new possibilities — and guard against sudden changes that could mean trouble for your company ! 
This tip is adapted from “Are Your Company’s Strengths Really Weaknesses?,” by Adam Brandenburger