Growth Spread Matrix

Analyze value creation and growth positioning. Use for competitive analysis, strategic positioning, and understanding where value is generated.

Security Scan

This is an instruction-only strategic-analysis framework that is internally consistent: it requests no credentials, installs, or unusual access and stays within its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (growth/value analysis) match the SKILL.md content. The skill is an advisory framework and does not request unrelated binaries, environment variables, or resources.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions are limited to assessing business units, plotting a 2×2 matrix, and producing strategic outputs. The SKILL.md does not instruct reading system files, environment variables, or contacting external endpoints.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files — the skill is instruction-only, so nothing is written to disk or downloaded during installation.

Credentials

No required env vars, credentials, or config paths are declared or referenced. The skill does not ask for secrets or external service access.

Persistence & Privilege

Skill is not forced-always, does not modify other skills or system settings in the instructions, and requires no elevated or persistent privileges.

Assessment

This skill is a harmless, self-contained advisory template for portfolio/strategy analysis. Before using it, (1) verify the advice with your domain experts — the framework is general and needs tuned metrics for your industry; (2) avoid pasting sensitive credentials or confidential raw datasets into the agent when asking it to analyze real business units; and (3) if you expect the agent to act on outputs (e.g., trigger workflows), review those external integrations separately, since this skill itself makes no integrations or installs.

Metadata

• Name: growth-spread-matrix
• Description: Value creation vs growth analysis framework
• Triggers: growth spread, value matrix, value creation analysis, competitive positioning

Instructions

Analyze how business creates value and grows using the Growth Spread Matrix framework.

Framework

The 2×2 Matrix

                   HIGH GROWTH
                          │
              ┌─────────┴──────────────┐
              │       DESTROYING           │
              │   VALUE + GROWING QUICKLY │
              │   (High margin, low growth)  │
              └───────────┬──────────────────┘
                          │
        LOW GROWTH          HIGH VALUE CREATION
            ┌────────────┴──────────────┐
            │       BUILDING VALUE          │
            │   (Investing, high margin) │
            └───────────┬──────────────────┘
                          │
     LOW VALUE CREATION      │
            ┌────────────┴──────────────┐
            │   HARVESTING VALUE          │
            │   (Milk cash, divest)  │
            └───────────┴──────────────────┘
                          │
              MEDIUM VALUE
                    ┌────────────┼──────────────┐
                    │  GROWING SLOWLY
                    │   (Value adding, growing) │
                    └───────────┬──────────────────┘

Quadrant Characteristics

| Quadrant | Value Creation | Growth | Strategy | Cash Flow | Investment | |-----------|----------------|----------|-----------|------------| | Top-Left | Destroying | High | Aggressive | 💸 Negative | 💸 High | | Top-Right | Building | High | Growth | 💸 Positive | 💸 Moderate | | Bottom-Left | Harvesting | Low | Defensive | 📊 Positive | 📊 Low | | Bottom-Right | Marginal | Low | Turnaround | 📊 Negative | 📊 Moderate |

Output Process

1. Assess each unit - Calculate margin and growth
2. Plot on matrix - Position business units
3. Analyze portfolio balance - Is there healthy mix?
4. Identify opportunities - Shift units to better quadrants
5. Develop strategies - Specific actions per quadrant
6. Plan resource allocation - Where to invest?
7. Monitor - Track movements over time

Output Format

## Growth Spread Matrix: [Portfolio/Company]

### Business Unit Analysis

| Unit | Revenue | Margin | Growth | Value Creation | Position | Cash Flow | Investment |
|-------|---------|---------|--------|------------------|---------|------------|
| [Unit A] | $X M | X% | X% | Building | Top-Right | 💸 | 💸 |
| [Unit B] | $X M | Y% | Y% | Harvesting | Bottom-Left | 📊 | 📊 |
| [Unit C] | $X M | Z% | Z% | Marginal | Bottom-Right | 📊 | 💸 | 📊 |
| [Unit D] | $X M | W% | W% | Building | Top-Right | 💸 | 💸 |

### Portfolio Balance

| Quadrant | Count | % Revenue | % Cash Flow | % Investment |
|-----------|---------|----------|-------------|--------------|
| Top-Left | X | X% | X% | 💸 | X% | X% |
| Top-Right | Y | Y% | Y% | 💸 | Y% | Y% |
| Bottom-Left | Z | Z% | Z% | 📊 | Z% | Z% |
| Bottom-Right | W | W% | W% | 📊 | W% | W% |

### Strategic Analysis

**Portfolio Mix:**
- Current focus: [Which quadrant dominates]
- Risk concentration: [Over-reliance on X quadrant]
- Growth sustainability: [Long-term prospects]
- Cash generation: [Which units fund growth]

**Movement Strategies:**

1. **[Strategy 1]** - [For units in Top-Left]
2. **[Strategy 2]** - [For units in Top-Right]
3. **[Strategy 3]** - [For units in Bottom-Left]
4. **[Strategy 4]** - [For units in Bottom-Right]

---

### Action Plan

| Priority | Action | Owner | Timeline |
|----------|--------|---------|------------|
| 1 | [Action 1] | [Name] | Q2 |
| 2 | [Action 2] | [Name] | Q3 |
| 3 | [Action 3] | [Name] | Q4 |

Tips

• The matrix is dynamic - units move over time
• Portfolio balance is critical - all four quadrants should be represented
• Value creation metrics vary by industry
• Growth rates are relative to industry, not absolute
• Consider strategic options - acquisition, divestiture, turnarounds
• Monitor regularly - quarterly reviews recommended

## References

- Various strategic management frameworks
- Henderson, Bruce. *The Logic of Business Strategy*. 1979.