Most theories about industry evolution focus on disruption and decline — but industries rarely die. They transform. This course offers a broader, more nuanced framework for understanding how industries are born, how they grow, and how they revitalize through the constant tension between efficiency and growth.

Learners will explore why industries are more often created by creative duplication and government policy than by breakthrough invention, and how mature industries organize themselves into a predictable structure of volume-driven generalists and margin-driven specialists — captured in the powerful Rule of Three framework. Through examples spanning ride-sharing, cell phones, retail, and beyond, this course gives learners the tools to read industry structure, anticipate competitive dynamics, and identify opportunities for growth and revitalization at any stage of an industry's life cycle.