Disruption.

It’s more than just a corporate buzzword.

It’s the new way of the world.

Amazon did it with retail. Uber did it with transportation. Apple did it with phones and other devices.

Ask any CEO what they fear the most, and you’ll hear a variety of answers. Recession. Talent exodus. Brain drain. All valid concerns. But the one that really keeps them up at night — the one they talk about in the back rooms where nobody else can hear — is the fear that a disruptor will make them obsolete overnight.

It’s why the taxi industry feared Uber, why the hotel industry fears Airbnb, why the music industry fears Spotify, and why everyone fears Amazon. Because these powerful disruptors swept in and, seemingly overnight, upended what appeared to be rock-solid, well-established industries.

And it could happen to your industry too.

So what’s your defense? As in many other things, the best defense is a good offense.

Because disruption is the new way of the world, and the best defense is to be the one doing the disrupting rather than the one reeling from it.

That’s easy to say, of course (which is why I said it in the first place; because it was easy). But how do you actually do it? How do you become the person who disrupts an industry?

By asking one question.

How can I make life easier for my customer?

Note: I did not say, “How can I make life easier?” I said, “How can I make life easier for my customer?”

Think again about Uber, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon. What do they all have in common? They all made life easier for their customers. Uber eliminated the nuisance of hailing a cab, and made paying for the ride a snap (in fact, automatic). Spotify lets you listen to virtually any song you can think of, instantly, on-demand, on a devise you’re already carrying in your pocket. Steve Jobs’ mantra at Apple was “Make it simpler, easier, more streamlined.” And Amazon created true one-stop-shopping, letting you buy practically anything in the world and have it delivered to your front door within days, and many times overnight (or even same-day).

You may not call them customers. You may call them clients, members, guests, patients, or something altogether different. I don’t know what you call them. But I do know that, whatever you call them, there is a way that you can make their lives easier. There is a way you can make it more convenient for them to do business with you.

All it takes is some creative thinking on your part.

At the very least, you’ll give yourself a competitive advantage. And you may even be the disruption to an entire industry.