How to Learn Jobs to be Done
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In case this is your first time visiting - I'm John Gauch, a consultant with extensive experience in business operations and growth planning. I specialize in helping startups implement strategies effectively in both areas. In my work as a fractional COO, I work with founders and CEOs through each step of the process, tailoring solutions to fit your unique needs and objectives.
Creating and sustaining a successful business entails doing countless things right. Knowing the Job to be Done (JTBD) of your customers and how your product helps them may not make it easier to start and grow a company, but it will make what you should be doing more obvious--and less subject to guesswork.
Co-architected by Clayton Christensen and Bob Moesta, a "Job to be Done" is the progress someone is trying to make in a struggling situation. Putting the JTBD framework to use effectively requires a commitment to understanding people's lives.
It is less about, "How do I make people want my product?" More about, "How do I make a product people want?"
It is less about, "How do I 'sell' more of my product?" More about, "How do I help people make the progress they are seeking?"
Applying the JTBD framework tells us why people pull your product into their lives, how to communicate with them compellingly, and how to satisfy them after they make a purchase. It can also tell us whether a brand new product idea is likely to work or not. In a May 2012 interview with Horace Dediu, Christensen contemplated: "10 years down the road, people will look back at my research, and they might say this idea of Jobs to be Done is a bigger idea than was 'disruption'," the theory that initially brought Christensen to the business world's attention.
Today, people around the globe put JTBD to use at companies of all sizes across industries.
Not only will applying JTBD and the associated mindset help you grow a business and innovate. When combined with practices and tools such as customer experience mapping and complementary metrics, leaders can articulate a clearer vision, dial in the organization's value proposition, align the team, and develop accountability among team members.
Read also: Estimating Product Market Opportunity
To learn all about JTBD, and how do do and use customer interviews, read my series of posts on the topic at Medium.
If you’re a startup CEO or founder, and you feel it would be interesting to chat, I’d love to connect. Learn about my services and please reach out.
This blog post appeared originally on LinkedIn.