“Jobs to be done” by Anthony W. Ulwick

Cheers to the weekend!

I spend hours putting these takeaways together and I honestly hope you learn something cool today too!

Before we get into today's book, a quick thanks to our sponsor…

The author 🖋

Anthony W. Ulwick is a pioneer in the field of innovation who created the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) theory and Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) methodology.

Ulwick's work has been recognized in publications and the application of his framework has helped numerous Fortune 500 companies achieve significant growth measured in the billions.

Key takeaways 🎓

1. Figure out the jobs to be done

The core idea of the JTBD theory is that people buy things to complete specific "jobs" in their lives.

They don't just want a drill, they want a hole in the wall. They don't just want a video game, they want to have fun and maybe share that fun with friends.

By figuring out the “jobs” people want to accomplish, we can shifts our focus from selling products or services to creating things that help them do those “jobs” better.

2. Jobs are stable, solutions are not

While the underlying jobs we want to accomplish remain relatively stable over the course of our lives, the solutions we use evolve.

For example, the job of "listening to music" has stayed the same for hundreds of years, but the solutions have shifted from live performances to vinyl records to cassettes, CDs, MP3 players and now streaming services.

3. Make better stuff

Ulwick introduces a structured framework called Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) for applying JTBD principles.

This framework provides a practical roadmap to find out what customers really want and identify opportunities for innovation, which often results in more successful products and services - things that truly help people and make them happy.

Closing thoughts 🧠

The book is a key resource for understanding a customer-centric approach to innovation and product development.

The author explains how JTBD differs from traditional product development methods, outlines a step-by-step process for identifying customer needs and showcases case studies of successful implementions of JTBD to drive innovation and growth.

That’s a wrap!

I’d love to hear your thoughts or book suggestions - just hit reply, I write back to everyone :)

- Monty

P.S. Find this valuable & want to say thanks? I love drinking coffee ☕

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