BCG Growth-Share Matrix

proposed

Also known as: Stars / Cash Cows / Dogs / Question Marks · Grow-Hold-Harvest-Divest

Manage a portfolio by funding stars from cash cows and pruning dogs.

Plots business units by market growth and relative share into four quadrants, prescribing different funding stances — invest, maintain, harvest, or divest — to balance a portfolio's cash. A canonical lens for divestment and harvest decisions.

Core concepts

StarsCash CowsDogsQuestion MarksGrow/Hold/Harvest/Divest

Best when

You run multiple units and must allocate cash or prune
Deciding what to harvest vs keep feeding

Watch-outs

Share/growth are crude proxies for attractiveness; ignores synergies