Jobs to be Done

Questions

What is Jobs to be Done?

Jobs to be Done says customers hire products to get a job done in a specific situation. Clayton Christensen's team found many morning milkshakes were hired to make a dull commute bearable, and Hilti realized builders wanted working tools, not drill ownership.

How do you use Jobs to be Done?

Use it at work, with money and in relationships: ask what situation someone is in, what progress they want, and what they'd fire to hire you. Then design for the job, not the product.

When does Jobs to be Done matter?

Jobs to be Done is one of the 56 mental models for strategy, the situations where you ask: How do I win when others want the same thing? Within that, it belongs to “Winning customers”, alongside Adverse Selection, Apostle Model and Churn.

What is an example of Jobs to be Done?

Two stories show it at work: The morning milkshake (1990s) and Hilti (2000s). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Jobs to be Done?

Reframe the Problem, The 5 Whys and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Jobs to be Done itself comes from economics.