Notes from “The Jobs To Be Done Playbook” by Jim Kalbach

the book

Please go ahead and buy a book if you find these notes useful. Link to the book is right here (no, it’s not referral).

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• At its core, the concept of JTBD is straightforward: focus on people’s objectives independent of the means used to accomplish them.
• The context of business has changed. Consumers have real power: they can research your company’s background, compare customer ratings, and find better alternatives all with a simple tap.

Chapter 1: Understanding Jobs to Be Done

• People don’t “hire” products and services because of the demographic they belong to (e.g., 25–31-year-olds, have a college degree, earn a certain salary); instead, they employ solutions to get a job done.
• My definition of a job is simple and broad: The process of reaching objectives under given circumstances
• People employ products and services to get their job done, not to interact with your organization.
• Jobs are stable over time, even as technology changes.
• People seek services that enable them to get more of their job done quicker and easier.
• Making the job the unit of analysis makes innovation more predictable.
• JTBD isn’t limited to one discipline: it’s a way of seeing that can be applied throughout an organization.

Chapter 2: Core Concepts of JTBD

• a job map is a view into the behaviors and needs of individuals in the context of their daily lives. That may or may not include your solution.
• Think of the job as the overall object or aim and needs as the success criteria along the way. As with job statements, formulating a need statement in a standard way is critical. Lance Bettencourt and Anthony Ulwick have developed a consistent way to notate needs in what they call desired outcome statements. There are four elements: Direction of change + unit of measure + object + clarifier
• Getting the right level of abstraction is critical. Ask “why?” to move up in the JTBD hierarchy and ask “how?” to move down.

Chapter 5: Designing Value

• When I [circumstance + job stage/ step], I want to [micro-job], so I can [need].
• Steph Troeph, research and JTBD instructor in the UK, approaches job stories in yet another way. She thinks of them with this formula: When I [circumstance], I want to [job], so that [benefit a solution offers].

Chapter 8: JTBD in Action

• Part of the problem is with the term “customer” itself, which to many people is limited to “consumption.” JTBD instead focuses on individuals and the goals that people have independent of a solution, company, or brand.
• Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) is perhaps the most complete JTBD method out there today.

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