I’ve been thinking a lot about the disruption tomorrow may bring. Most industrieshave already experienced more disruption than we have, so there hasbeen much attention paid to potential disruption of our business in recent years.

Disruption takes place when the interface between a customer anda product provider is changed radically. Much of the disruptionthat has captured headlines is technology based. Think Uber, Airbnbor Tesla. Technology is just an enabling factor in disruption. Thereal point of disruption is the interface—the communicationschannel that brings customers closer to providers of products andservices. The product or service itself is unchanged.

People want transportation from one place to another. Uber makesthat happen. The interface is new, but what it does for people hasnot changed at all. But by changing the ability of a customer tosummon transportation on demand, Uber has changed the economicsunderlying the service. Customers like the convenient process, butalso the favorable pricing made possible by using in-placeresources. Thus, the Uber disruption is one of communicationbetween provider and customer, abetted by a distinct pricingadvantage: resource management is much more efficient when itrequires less capital.