What is Soar Analysis? Complete Strategy Explained

SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results Analysis. It is a strategic planning strategy that assists businesses in focusing on their existing strengths and opportunities while also forming a vision of future goals and the outcomes they will produce.

You’ve probably heard comments like “It pays to be careful” and “Don’t get too enthusiastic!” ringing through a conference room. And if they respond negatively to your goals for the department’s growth, you may feel depressed and disillusioned.

Of course, while deciding on a plan, you must be professional, prudent, and completely aware of any potential threats. However, it would help if you also inspired others. Inspiration is the fuel that keeps them motivated, engaged, and productive daily. Their ambition, ingenuity, and creativity may all be stifled if they don’t have them.

What is a SOAR analysis?

Instead of using SWOT analysis, the SOAR model uses appreciative inquiry to concentrate the business on what is known to work rather than internal vulnerabilities or potential threats that may or may not materialise.

A SOAR analysis produces a set of activities that utilise strengths and opportunities to achieve common goals with quantifiable outcomes. It serves as a foundation for more in-depth examination using other business tools.

SOAR analysis is a strong method for bringing stakeholders together to realise the organisation’s potential and build a common future vision.

SOAR was invented by Jacqueline Stavros, David Cooperrider, and D. Lynn Kelley in their research paper SOAR: A New Strategic Planning Approach, published in 2003.

How do you conduct a SOAR analysis?

A SOAR analysis is drawn as a two-by-two matrix. It consists of 4 basic principles: (Strength, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results). Let’s talk about them in detail.

As you can see, the top row of the matrix focuses on the present, while the bottom row concentrates on your ideal future. Internal elements are addressed in the left column, while external influences are addressed in the right column.

You could wonder why outcomes are external rather than internal. After all, don’t we produce our outcomes? The explanation is that because outcomes are not something you produce independently, they are considered an external force. For example, your consumers must be satisfied and recommend you to others.

1. Strengths

This section seeks to identify your organisation’s strengths, which you may use and improve to grab the chances you choose to pursue. This will be in the form of a list, and it will cover your company’s important assets, resources, and expertise. By identifying core competencies, resources, and competitive advantages, the company can build a solid foundation for growth.

The following are some questions that might assist you in determining your strengths:

• What distinguishes us from others?
• What is our USP (unique selling proposition)?
• What can we accomplish better than anyone else (with our most valued know-how)?
• What do we have (as our most valuable assets) that no one else has?
• Which of our assets is the most marketable in the marketplace?

2. Opportunities

This phase of the SOAR study is designed to help you uncover market opportunities that you may explore to improve your business.

The following are some questions that might assist you in identifying market opportunities:

• What are the current market trends that we may take advantage of?
• What global trends do we have access to that we could use?
• Could any of our company’s risks be transformed into opportunities?
• Is there anything missing from our current market?
• Is there any fresh market that we should pursue?
• Do our consumers have any unmet needs that we could fulfil?

3. Aspirations

This section is designed to help you figure out what you want to do with your life in the future. It’s simply a vision based on the strengths and possibilities you’ve found that will both challenge and motivate your company to succeed.

It’s important to note that your goals aren’t the same as the general vision of your company. Your goals will usually be shorter-term in nature. For example, your company’s ambition may be to become the world’s largest airline, but your next goal may be to become the largest airline in the country where you presently operate.

The following are some questions that might assist you in determining your goals:

• What should the future structure of our company look like?
• What is it that we truly care about?
• What is the best way for us to make a difference?
• What do we want to accomplish?
• What should our organisation’s objectives be?

4. Results

This section explains how you’ll know when you’ve completed your goals and how you’ll keep track of your progress. Goal-setting strategies like SMART goal-setting and Outcome goal-setting might be beneficial in this situation.

It is vital not to set too many metrics to track; instead, focus on the 3-to 5 most crucial metrics for company performance. A balanced scorecard can help you keep track of your progress.

The following are some questions that might assist you in determining your outcomes:

• How will we know when we’ve accomplished our goals?
• What figures or data may we use to track our progress toward our goals?
• Is it possible to turn our ambition into a quantifiable goal?
• How and when will we keep track of our progress toward our goals?

What are Soar Tools?

SOAR solutions, in general, enable teams to collect vital security data and discover, evaluate, and address current and prospective risks and vulnerabilities from various sources. Consequently, the solutions give better visibility, which helps firms respond to security problems quicker, more efficiently, and reliably.

Some of the Popular SOAR Tools are

Splunk Phantom

Splunk Phantom is a SOAR solution that combines a wide variety of security capabilities for teams to better understand and respond to external and domestic threats. A visual playbook editor (VPE) allows security and development teams to create complete playbooks using the built-in drag-and-drop capability.

IBM Resilient

IBM Resilient is a SOAR platform for machine learning that increases risk identification and response. The SOAR solution may be installed on-site as an MSSP service or as the SaaS deployment strategy for security as a service. It gives teams a single platform and the capacity to automate operations, increase intelligence, increase cooperation, and handle threats more quickly and efficiently.

Insightconnect

DFLabs Inc.Mac is a feature-rich, adaptable, and scalable SOAR platform to enhance security and automation operations for businesses. The web-based, or SaaS, platform is designed to automate, measure, and arrange incident response procedures and other safety activities for MSSPs, CSIRTs, SOCs, etc.

The single, easy AI-driven tool allows a wide range of safety problems to be detected and managed.

What are the advantages of SOAR?

The following are SOAR’s benefits:

• It is simple to comprehend and apply.
• It functions as a framework for a single person or a group of individuals.
• Unlike many other strategic frameworks, it offers certain concrete goals in addition to business and market information.
• Stimulating the business’s path is simpler when strengths and ambitions are mapped out.

Also Read: What is Beckhard and Harris’ Change Equation?

What are the limitations of SOAR?

SOAR analysis is a positive and future-focused approach that aims to identify and leverage a company’s strengths and opportunities to achieve its desired results. However, SOAR analysis also has some limitations.

One limitation of SOAR analysis is that it may not provide a comprehensive view of a company’s situation. It focuses on positive aspects and opportunities but may not adequately address potential challenges, risks, or weaknesses. As a result, companies may need to supplement SOAR analysis with other tools and approaches that can help them identify and mitigate risks and weaknesses.

Another limitation of SOAR analysis is that it may not be as useful in complex and dynamic environments. As the business world continues to evolve at a fast pace, companies need to be able to adapt quickly and respond to changing circumstances. SOAR analysis may not capture the speed and complexity of these changes, which could limit its usefulness in some situations.

Conclusion

SOAR analysis offers a strategic roadmap for organizations, propelling them towards ambitious yet achievable goals. It takes flight with Strengths, identifying your unique advantages and resources. These become the launchpad for exploring Opportunities, external trends and shifts presenting exciting growth potential. By aligning opportunities with strengths, you chart a course guided by your Aspirations, the difference you dream of making and the legacy you wish to leave. Finally, Results act as your navigation system, employing clear metrics to track progress and ensure you stay on course.