... McKinsey/GE matrix, a business portfolio 9780230_230941_08_cha06.indd 105 09/09/2009 10:01106 BUSINESS AT A CROSSROADSscreening tool, familiar to MBA students, which relates business unit strength” ... earn large, asset-skimming underwriting fees) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), they encourage CEOs to exploit their balance sheet powers to expand their businesses by these means. CEOs ... invariably he) bets the farm by borrowing, making acquisitions, launching new businesses or investing more in existing businesses, and, by proxy (through putatively independent non-executive directors...