In 1968, J.D. Power III took the radical step of soliciting customer feedback about cars through consumer surveys. This move ultimately led automakers to shift their operations from a product focus to a greater focus on the customer. Today, J.D. Power and Associates is focused on gauging customer satisfaction across a broad array of industries. Power is now the subject of a new book that documents that history: Power: How J.D. Power III Became the Auto Industry’s Adviser, Confessor, and Eyewitness to History , by Sarah Morgans and Bill Thorness.  Recently, Power was a guest at the Mack Institute for Innovation Management conference on the theme of disruptive technologies. Wharton professor of management John Paul MacDuffie sat down with Power to learn more about the experiences that led him to launch J.D. Power and Associates. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. John Paul MacDuffie: I am speaking with J.D. Power III — or J.…