Jobs To Be Done

A job is essentially the progress that a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance. When we buy a product, we essentially hire something to get a job done. Deeply understand your customers’ struggle for progress and then create the right solution and experiences to ensure you solve their jobs well, every time.

Questions to ask

• What progress is that person trying to achieve?
• What are the circumstances of the struggle? Who, when, where, while doing what?
• What obstacles are getting in the way of the person trying to make that progress?
• What does success mean for them? With what trade-offs?
• What causes that person to use a particular product and service?

How to identify jobs?

If you observe people employing a workaround or “compensating behavior” to get a job done, pay close attention. It’s usually a clue that you have stumbled on a high-potential innovation opportunity.

What are the important, unsatisfied jobs in your own life, and the lives of those closest to you?

Observe your customers using your products. In what circumstances do they use them? What are the functional and emotional dimensions of the progress they are trying to make? Are they using them in unexpected ways?

How to trigger a change?

Identify the forces that compel change to a new solution. What circumstances create these forces? How can you improve them?

Identify the forces that oppose any change. What circumstances are creating these forces? How can you eliminate/reduce them?

How to get hired for a job?

New products succeed not because of the features and functionality they offer but because of the experiences they enable.

Figure out what do you need to design, develop, and deliver in your product offering so that it solves the consumer’s job well.

Avoid This

Surface Growth: Trying to create many products for many customers - and losing focus on the original job that brought you success in the first place. Hurts your brand.

As you grow up, it’s very common to lose focus on the job that sparked your existence in the first place. You start to act as if your business is defined by the products and services you sell, instead of the jobs that you solve.

The Goal

To develop your brand, one that customers automatically associate with the successful resolution of their most important jobs.

A successful brand provides a clear guide to the outside world as to what your company represents.