Disruption, Friction, and Things to Come

In the past 24 hours, @Uber has received a cease-and-desist letter from the city of Cambridge, MA.

The city of Boston has decided to "wait and see" after the public firestorm in response to its cease-and-desist letter.

Meanwhile, chaos theory as applied to business continues to be strong.

When Cambridge concludes that GPS service doesn't fall within a measurable realm suitable for taxi service, despite the fact that their own law enforcement and rescue teams use GPS multiple times daily, we're looking at disruption in action.

When Boston, a city notorious for fear-based response, takes a wait-and-see approach after that neighboring community is roasted by its inhabitants over @Uber, we're looking at disruption as a creative force.

"To thrive in this climate requires a whole new approach....Because some people will thrive. They are the members of Generation Flux. This is less a demographic designation than a psychographic one: What defines GenFlux is a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates--and even enjoys--recalibrating careers, business models, and assumptions. Not everyone will join Generation Flux, but to be successful, businesses and individuals will have to work at it. This is no simple task. The vast bulk of our institutions--educational, corporate, political--are not built for flux. Few traditional career tactics train us for an era where the most important skill is the ability to acquire new skills."    --Fast Company, 9 January 2012

Disruption is the new direction. We are all surfers riding waves. Surfers take off, fade, and cut back not because they won't wipe out, but because the wave is the ride. Disruption offers waves in every direction.

Where will you ride?

PS: Everyone, please wave goodbye to Neuromancer and Heart of Darkness; there's too much good stuff going on this week for me to offer more than oblique references to either.