GE-McKinsey 9-Box Matrix
Reference model
Industry attractiveness (up) against business strength (strong on the left). The zones run from invest at the top left to harvest or divest at the bottom right.
About this model
Rates each business unit on two things — how attractive its industry is and how strong the business is within it — and places it on a nine-cell grid whose zones say where to invest, where to be selective, and where to harvest or divest. A finer alternative to the BCG matrix.
General Electric and McKinsey & Company — the GE–McKinsey nine-box matrix · 1970s
How to read it
- Weigh several factors for each axis (not one number): for the industry, things like size, growth, profitability and competitive intensity; for the business, things like relative share, brand, cost position and quality.
- Rate each unit 1–5 on both axes. Four or five is high, three is middle, one or two is low; the grid cell it lands in gives its zone.
- Green cells: invest to grow. Gold cells: invest selectively, protect earnings. Red cells: harvest, or divest. Then ask where the cash to invest will come from.
What this does
Places each business unit or product line on a 9-cell grid — industry attractiveness vs. competitive strength — to prioritise where to invest, hold, or divest; a richer alternative to the BCG Matrix's simpler 2x2.
When to use it
Growth/Scale through Maturity, once BCG's simpler grid feels too coarse for a multi-factor competitive position.
What happens next
Investment priorities feed the Financial Model’s capital allocation.
Golden thread
Builds on ←
A starting point: it needs no earlier tool.
Feeds into →
- financial
Framework library: Strategy and environment (layer L1), lifecycle stages 3 to 5.
Use this tool, free
Sign in to open the worksheet. Your work saves as you type, the AI can draft the parts you have not filled in, and you finish with an analysis and a 30/60/90-day action plan.
Hand-built by Eccellere and reviewed by Eccellere on 02/11/2026. Guidance, not advice: apply your own judgement.