Has Donald Trump Ubered the rest of the candidates?
Lets be clear.
This is not an endorsement of Donald Trump.
In fact I am totally against most if not all of his policies.
But …
He is certainly disrupting the Republican election for their next presidential candidate.
And the main reason is that he has changed the rules of the game.
Much like Uber or Airbnb have changed the game of the taxi and hotel industry respectively.
In the debates for example, here are the so-called rules of the games that other candidates follow:
– careful, rehearsed lines
– thought-through positions and policies
– conducted in a serious manner
– appeal to voter’s reason & logic
– principled arguments will win over undecided voters
– other candidates will be treated with respect (as they are of the same party)
Yet Donald Trump like other disruptors is playing by another set of rules that the other candidates simply do not not how to or wish to play.
For example:
Donald Trump regularly mocks the other candidates and uses humour in often devastating ways.
His appeal is based on emotion e.g. the fear of illegal Mexicans
His responses in the debates for example seem spontaneous and instinctive rather than thought through or focus group tested.
The party faithful are responding to this style because he seems more authentic and a person of conviction and determination.
On the other-hand to non-republicans and to the rest of the world Donald Trump seems a bit mad.
But this is often the case with other disruptors.
So is Donald Trump an example of disruption.
Absolutely.
Will it last?
I suspect not but as with the case of every disruption — you never know.