SWOT

Alright, I have to admit that when I heard we were having a strategic planning process and that I had to give up a large chunk of precious time, I wasn't all that thrilled. However, yesterday turned out to be a really eye opening experience for me-- and eye opening in a good way. We had a lovely gentleman come and guide us through a process whereby the people in the room would be able to identify UMCH's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. (SWOT) This might be a little hard to envision, but we were asked as teams to identify things in the areas listed above, and then prioritize them in a process where everyone was given five color coded different point dots.

The first thing I noticed is that we had a HUGE list of non-duplicated stregths, the five greatest of which were 1. That we as an agency treat the child or client in a holistic fashion that includes mental, spiritual, emotional, etc tactics. 2. That we have very strong ties to the larger UMC 3. That we provide broad continuum of services. 4. That we have a historic foundation with a mind to forward thinking. 5. That we see all persons through the eyes of Christ.

The next thing I noticed was that with such a huge list of strengths, I ran out of dots for things I really wanted to emphasize as a strength. I had five dots! Perhaps in working some other place, I might not have run out of dots. It was really refreshing to see all these strengths listed like this, and thus be reminded of what we are doing really well.

And here's my thought-- we likeley wouldn't be doing so well if we weren't an agency full of passionate people. Now that is a gift from God!