Growth Share Matrix

Analyze business portfolio using BCG Growth-Share Matrix. Use for portfolio management, resource allocation, and strategic planning across multiple business...

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only BCG Growth‑Share Matrix helper whose instructions, requirements, and outputs are consistent with its stated purpose and do not request extra credentials or install code.

Purpose & Capability

Name, description, and the SKILL.md all describe applying the BCG Growth‑Share Matrix. There are no unexpected environment variables, binaries, or install steps requested; everything required to perform the stated analysis (growth rate, relative share, plotting, classification) is appropriate for the skill.

Instruction Scope

The runtime instructions are limited to defining portfolio units, calculating growth and relative market share, plotting/classifying, and recommending strategy. The instructions do not direct the agent to read arbitrary system files, access external endpoints, or exfiltrate data. The placeholder $ARGUMENTS indicates the agent will use user-supplied portfolio input, which is expected.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files are present; this is instruction-only, so nothing is written to disk or downloaded. That represents a low install risk.

Credentials

No environment variables, credentials, or config paths are requested. The amount and type of access requested are proportionate to an analytical, instruction-only skill.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request persistent or system-wide privileges. Autonomous invocation is allowed by default (disable-model-invocation is false) which is normal for skills and not a red flag here because the skill has no broad environment or credential access.

Assessment

This skill is internally coherent and low-risk: it only provides an analytic framework and asks for portfolio data to produce classifications and recommendations. Before using it, avoid pasting sensitive or proprietary financial data into any third‑party agent (share aggregated or anonymized figures when possible). Confirm the data sources and time windows (CAGR calculation) you want used, and review the recommendations — the BCG matrix is a heuristic from the 1970s and should be combined with other analyses and up‑to‑date market context. If you plan to run the agent autonomously, be aware it may ask for portfolio inputs when invoked; ensure those prompts do not include secrets or unrelated system data.

BCG Growth-Share Matrix

Metadata

• Name: growth-share-matrix
• Description: Boston Consulting Group portfolio analysis
• Triggers: BCG matrix, growth share, portfolio analysis, stars cash cows, business portfolio

Instructions

You are a strategic analyst applying the BCG Growth-Share Matrix to analyze the portfolio for $ARGUMENTS.

Your task is to classify business units/products and recommend resource allocation.

Framework

The Two Dimensions

Vertical Axis: Market Growth Rate

• High growth: >10% annually (typically)
• Low growth: <10% annually
• Determines cash requirements for maintaining share

Horizontal Axis: Relative Market Share

• Relative to largest competitor
• Log scale (1.0 = equal to leader, 0.5 = half of leader, 2.0 = double)
• Surrogate for competitive strength and economies of scale

The Four Quadrants

           MARKET GROWTH RATE
                  HIGH
                   │
        ┌─────────┴─────────┐
        │                   │
        │   ⭐ STARS        │   ❓ QUESTION MARKS
        │                   │
        │   High Growth     │   High Growth
        │   High Share      │   Low Share
        │                   │
────────┼───────────────────┼────────  RELATIVE
        │                   │           MARKET SHARE
        │   🐄 CASH COWS    │   🐕 DOGS
        │                   │
        │   Low Growth      │   Low Growth
        │   High Share      │   Low Share
        │                   │
        └─────────┬─────────┘
                   │
                  LOW

Quadrant Characteristics

Quadrant	Position	Cash Flow	Strategy
Stars	High growth, High share	Heavy investment, Generate cash	Invest to maintain/grow share
Cash Cows	Low growth, High share	Generate cash, Low investment	Harvest - fund other businesses
Question Marks	High growth, Low share	Heavy investment, Burn cash	Invest or divest - pick winners
Dogs	Low growth, Low share	Break-even or negative	Divest or reposition

Output Process

1. Define portfolio units - Business units, products, or segments
2. Calculate market growth - 3-5 year CAGR for each market
3. Calculate relative market share - Your share vs largest competitor
4. Plot on matrix - Size bubbles by revenue/profit
5. Classify each unit - Star, Cow, Question Mark, or Dog
6. Assess balance - Healthy portfolio needs mix
7. Recommend strategy - Investment priorities

Output Format

## BCG Growth-Share Matrix: [Company/Portfolio]

### Portfolio Overview

| Business Unit | Market Size | Market Share | Rel. Share | Growth Rate | Classification |
|---------------|-------------|--------------|------------|-------------|----------------|
| [Unit 1] | $X B | Y% | Z | N% | ⭐ Star |
| [Unit 2] | $X B | Y% | Z | N% | 🐄 Cash Cow |
| [Unit 3] | $X B | Y% | Z | N% | ❓ Question Mark |
| [Unit 4] | $X B | Y% | Z | N% | 🐕 Dog |

### Matrix Visualization

     Growth Rate
          20%
           │
 ┌─────────┼─────────┐
 │  [A]    │    [C]  │
 │  Star   │   QM    │

10%┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ [B] │ [D] │ │ Cow │ Dog │ └─────────┼─────────┘ │ 0% 0.1x 1.0x 10x Relative Market Share

### Portfolio Analysis

**Stars (Invest)**
- [Unit A]: [Analysis and recommendation]

**Cash Cows (Harvest)**
- [Unit B]: [Analysis and recommendation]

**Question Marks (Decide)**
- [Unit C]: [Analysis and recommendation]

**Dogs (Divest/Reposition)**
- [Unit D]: [Analysis and recommendation]

### Portfolio Balance Assessment

- **Cash Flow Balance:** [Cash cows fund stars + question marks?]
- **Growth Potential:** [Enough stars and question marks?]
- **Competitive Position:** [Strong enough cash cows?]
- **Risk Profile:** [Over-reliance on any quadrant?]

### Strategic Recommendations

1. **Investment Priority:** [Which units to fund]
2. **Divestiture Candidates:** [Which units to sell/close]
3. **Turnaround Targets:** [Which dogs might become viable]
4. **Cash Generation Strategy:** [How to fund growth]

Tips

• Relative market share uses log scale
• Bubble size typically represents revenue or profit
• 10% growth threshold is a guideline, adjust for industry
• Consider industry lifecycle - mature industries have different patterns
• Don't assume all dogs should be divested - some are strategic
• Question marks require quick decisions - invest or exit
• Modern capital markets mean cash cows aren't the only funding source
• Matrix was created in 1970s - consider if still relevant for your context