Once upon a time, about 70 years ago, entrepreneurs rolled up their sleeves, looked around, and said, “Right. World War II is over. Antitrust laws have our backs. Let’s get out there and make some money.” And like homesteaders at the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, they sprinted into their chosen industrial territories, intent on staking a claim in a corporate sky’s-the-limit.

Back then, business meant competition, and competition meant business. It was a straightforward formula of higher volume driving lower costs, which in turn created lower prices that drove higher volume. Winners measured their success based on the scale of their operations, which became gratifyingly global. Since industries were as distinct as the companies within them, it was easy to tell who was winning the more-faster-bigger sweepstakes.

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