The Industry Life Cycle

I’m a fan of simple models that help you see things you might otherwise miss, or that help explain how things work, or that simply show you a good lens for looking at the world around you.

Here’s a simple Industry Life Cycle model that I found in Professor Jason Davis’ class, Technology Strategy (MIT’s OpenCourseWare.)

It’s a simple backdrop and that’s good.  It’s good because there is a lot of complexity in the transitions, and there are may big ideas that all build on top of this simple frame.

Sometimes the most important thing to do with a model is to use it as a map.

What stage is your industry in?