The Thin Book of SOAR: A Review

I was sitting in a conference room with several other people a number of years ago. We had gathered to create an organization that would raise funds for Baptist collegiate ministries in underserved areas of the United States and Canada. A consultant who was volunteering his time led us through a planning process called SWOT--strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The process made sense at the time, gave us some direction in the formulation of our plan, and I even used it in a couple of other settings, but I began to be a bit uncomfortable at the negative connotations of parts of the process.

In recent years, I have come to use an Appreciative Inquiry process in consulting--one that identifies and builds on the inherent strengths of an organization. I was pleased, therefore, when I discovered that someone had taken the SWOT approach and transformed it into an Appreciative Inquiry process.

In The Thin Book of SOAR: Building Strengths-Based Strategy, Jacqueline Stavros and Gina Hinrichs outline a fresh and imaginative approach to strategic planning for any type of organization. They write, “Focusing on strengths means that the SOAR conversations center on what an organization is doing right, what skills could be enhanced, and what is compelling to those who have a ‘stake’ in the organization’s success.”

The acrostic used here stands for:

Strengths--What can we build on?
Opportunities--What are our stakeholders asking for?
Aspirations--What do we care deeply about?
Results--How will we know we are succeeding?

The authors observe, “Weaknesses and Threats are not ignored. They are reframed and given the appropriate focus within the Opportunities and Results conversation.” SOAR recognizes that the organization may have some short comings but rather than dwell on those, the process encourages doing more of what is being done well. Although there may be potential threats that face the future success of the organization, we rarely know what those are in a rapidly changing context, so why waste time on them?

After introducing the process, the authors explain how to use SOAR in a strategy planning process and offer a case study of the process in action.

The process is presented in a short, easily understood, and practical way, but the underlying philosophy has many implications. I have used this process with both not-for-profit and church-based ministry leaders and found that it is easily embraced and provides significant insights for those involved. This would be a great addition to your planning toolbox.

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