2.1.

1 Introduction
Video
The jobs to be done theory is best understood by evaluating a specific product or service. Below,
we ask you to identify an important product or service your organization offers that you are
familiar with or have responsibility for.
Q: Shared: How does this apply to you?
Identify one product or service your organization offers. Please describe this product or service.
Thanks for getting that down. We'll return to your product, customer categorization, and
competitors later in the module. For now, let's go over the learning goals for the module.
Q: Private: How does this apply to you?
How does your organization typically categorize customers for this offering? List the major
categories below.
Q: Private: How does this apply to you?
Who competes to provide this offering? List the three biggest competitors.

The goals for this module are:

1. To see that many products fail because they are focused on correlation, not causality
2. To find important "jobs" in the market for which your products might be "hired"
3. To understand your products' true competitors from the customer's perspective
4. To figure out what and how you must integrate in order to get a "job" done perfectly
One-on-One Discussion & Interview Assignment: Discovering Customer Jobs to be Done

Deadline – April 24, 2020

As you will learn in this module, a major key to discovering customer jobs to be done is to
observe and interview consumers. For this assignment, you will do a one-on-one interview with
another participant.

This teaching element will automatically pair you up with one other participant. You are required
to interview each other. Please connect with each other via the platform, phone, Skype, Google
Hangout, or via another medium (more details below). For this assignment, you must:

Identify a purchase that your partner has made within the past 90 days. If possible, choose a
purchase that was over $100.

Interview your partner to discover what "job" they were trying to fulfill when they "hired" that
product or service.

Dig deep to get to the core - find out the real reason they "hired" the product or service!

Remember, throughout this interview, you are searching for causality. You want to discover the
moment your partner first had the thought that they needed to purchase a product or service.
Strive to discover the specific dilemma he/she was trying to solve in that moment.

We encourage you to schedule your interview far enough out to allow yourself to complete most
of Module 3 before your interview. Check the Disruptive Strategy calendar tab on the program
dashboard for the Jobs to Be Done Interview Assignment deadline.

You'll submit your findings via the Assignments tab on the program dashboard. You'll be
required to:

Upload a picture of the product or service you were asking your partner about.

Write in the job to be done that you feel your partner was trying to get done.

Share any insights you learned about how to discover jobs to be done.

Please be respectful of your partner's time. Respond promptly to scheduling requests, even if it's
to say "I'm still trying to figure out a good time".

If your partner proves unresponsive after multiple attempts at contact, go to the Assignments tab
and look at the detailed instructions for the assignment to review your options for submitting as
an individual.
Optional: Jobs to be done interview ideas
Here are some examples of questions that may be helpful. These are not a script. These
questions are meant to help open the conversation, so you will have to continue to dig deeper by
asking other questions.

• Do you remember the first time you thought about buying a (product)?
• Tell me about the first time you had a thought: ‘I need to find a new solution.”
• What problem or dilemma were you trying to solve when you bought the (product)?
• Tell me about the old _____(mattress, cell phone, etc…). Why didn’t you buy the same
thing again?
• When you bought this (product), what other options did you consider?
• What job you were trying to get done? What did you hire (milkshake – long boring drive
to work, the need for sth. to be engaged, fruit pieces to be re-engaged)?
These questions are directly from “Jobs-to-be-Done The Handbook” by Chris Spiek and Bob
Moesta. For more in-depth training on how to conduct these jobs to be done interviews, feel free
to purchase a copy of this book.

2.2.1 Customer Segmentation

Video
Traditional market segmentation is done by product category, price point, or demographic
indicators such as age, gender, geography, and socio-economic status. Although these
categories and indicators are often correlated with a customer's interest in a particular product,
they do not cause the customer to buy the product.
Optional: History of Flight

Correlation vs. causality (if-then statements, “in this situation you have to do it this way”)

Rather, "jobs" arise in people's lives that they need to get done (or problems arise that they need
to solve). Customers don't really buy products: They "hire" them to get a "job" done.
Video (2x)

Focusing on the job to be done helps you answer some critical questions:

• What "job" does the customer hire your product to do?

• How big is the market, and is it growing?
• Who is competing to help the customer do this "job"?
Knowing the "job" a customer is trying to get done also allows you to improve the product in
ways that are important to the customer.
Video
Optional: Resumes and "job" descriptions
Customers "hire" products or services based on how well they fit the "job" description.

Take a look again at the categories of customers you identified earlier in the module:
A: Based on strategic tech focus, size of business case.
With these in mind, how would you say your company typically categorizes customers?

• By customer attributes (which correlate with buying behavior)

• By customer jobs to be done (which cause buying behavior)

The following teaching element is called a "Team Discussion." Team Discussions provide an
opportunity to participate in meaningful (virtual) discussions with your peers. The first 5
participants who answer this question will be placed into a virtual group to discuss the topic. The
same thing will happen with the second 5 participants and the third 5, etc.
Here are some important tips to best use these Team Discussions:
Once you answer the question, you will see your initial response displayed under your picture
along with other group members’ responses. Click on a photo to view the response. Note that if
you are the first person to the group, it may take a few hours for the next person to join.
To follow your group's discussion, click on the Team Discussion icon on the left sidebar and find
the title of this particular team discussion. The Team Discussion sidebar is where you read and
make additional comments in the discussion—not this course page.
When any of your group members make a new comment, you will see a notification in your
Activity Feed. You can access the discussion and make additional comments from any page in
the course by clicking on the Team Discussion icon on the left sidebar. There is no need to
return to this particular page.
There will be no assignment required from this discussion. However, we encourage you to
engage with your team to have a meaningful discussion.

Team Discussion: Innovation in Yogurt

Correctly understanding the customer job to be done unlocks a host of insights. Once you know
the job, you can clearly see who the true competitors are, how large the market is, what
opportunities there are for innovation, and how to market the product.
Let's consider an example from the yogurt industry. Yogurt has existed for many, many years
and most people would consider the yogurt industry to be mature with few (if any) opportunities
to innovate. However, within the past decade, Chobani created a $1 billion business from
scratch by innovating in this space. In fact, compared to other yogurts, Chobani contains twice
as much protein with half the amount of sugar and carbs. Chobani is known to be a very thick
and protein-rich greek yogurt.
The following table tracks the size of the market for greek yogurt and all other yogurts.

2010 2011 2012 2013

Greek yogurt $391 million $932 million $1.8 billion $2.6 billion
All other yogurt $4.4 billion $4.4 billion $4.1 billion $3.6 billion
(Sources: https://hbr.org/2013/10/chobanis-founder-on-growing-a-start-up-without-outside-
investors and https://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/196-how-chobani-won-the-
subcategory-competition)
Notice how the market for greek yogurt has grown significantly more than the decline in the
market for regular yogurt. It is likely that greek yogurt has both created a new market and stolen
market share from non-yogurt categories.
Consider the following job to be done:
"Help me maintain a healthy, protein-rich diet."
With this particular job to be done in mind, share your thoughts on the following questions:
1. Aside from other yogurt companies, who does Chobani compete against?
2. Where and how should Chobani market their product?
Start this group discussion by responding below to the questions posed above. Then work as a
group to develop a tag-line that could be used to market Chobani. Your tagline will be visible
only to your team.

2.2.2 A Few Things About "Jobs"

Products and technologies come and go, but jobs to be done persist over time.
Video
Q: Shared: How does this apply to you?
Briefly describe the product or service you're focusing on and then answer the following:
(Remember to check if each question is shared or private. This question will be shared with your
cohort.)
Before your product existed, what did customers hire to get the "job" done? How might they get
it done in the future?
While we typically think of jobs to be done as functional problems to solve, social and emotional
"jobs" can also be powerful causes of customer buying behavior.
Video
When identifying functional, social, and emotional jobs to be done, it's important to realize that
each type of job can have a varying level of influence in one's decision to purchase a product or
service.
Q: Shared: Functional, Social, and Emotional Jobs to be Done
Identify a product or service that has a high-end option and a low-end option. For each option
determine the:

• functional,
• social,
• and emotional jobs to be done.
Describe how the functional, social, and emotional jobs to be done are different for the high-end
and low-end products. Do the different types of jobs to be done play different roles in high-end
vs low-end products?
One JTBD is to organize and manage music for personal use. An important functional aspect of
this job is to listen to the music. A related emotional/personal job is to organize and manage
music in a way that feels good; a related emotional/social job is to share songs with friends.
Related jobs might be to download songs from the Internet, make playlists, discard unwanted
songs, and pass the time.

2.3.1 Brief Case: Disney California Adventure

We've laid out the basic elements of the Jobs to be Done theory and why it's important to focus
on the "job." Let's now use this theory like a set of lenses that can help us understand Walt
Disney Theme Parks.
Video
Before we dive too deep into Disney Theme Parks, we thought it would be fun to let you guess
the results of an informal survey we ran, which asked, "Why would you go to Disney Theme
Parks"?
What do you think the most popular answers were?

Video
Walt Disney built Disneyland, the company's first theme park, around a specific job to be done:
help me escape reality into a storytelling experience with my family.

Cold Call
Q: An obvious competitor for Disney is another theme park like Six Flags. However, if we focus
on the job to be done of, "help me have an experience with my family that we'll remember for the
rest of our lives," we realize that there are many less-obvious competitors. Please take a
moment to answer the following:
a. Identify 3 less-obvious products, services, or experiences that compete for this same job
to be done.
b. How well do these compete against Disney in regards to this job to be done?
Once we understand what job clients are trying to get done, the true competitors become
obvious. For example, consider who might be the fiercest competitor for Black & Decker (a tool
maker). You may identify another tool company like Craftsman. However, if the job to be done is,
"help me buy a wedding gift for my friend," then a top competitor could be a necktie or a toaster.
Let's now return to the product or service you identified at the beginning of the module, shown
here:
Q: Private: How does this apply to you?
What is the primary job to be done causing your customers to "hire" your product or service? Try
to phrase it as typical "job" statements, starting with "Help me..." "Help me avoid..." or "I need
to..."
Keeping in mind these jobs to be done, take another look at the competitors you identified
previously:
Q: Private: How does this apply to you?
With a jobs to be done perspective, identify 2-3 other competitors that you haven't traditionally
thought of as competitors. How do these competitors help customers get these "jobs" done?
Jobs to be done stay constant over time. Once the core "job" is defined and understood, it needs
to be the focus of each product and service you offer.
Video
Despite the high expectations when the park opened, attendance figures stayed well below the 7
million visitors projected.

Why were the results below projections?

Video
Q: If you were Disney's Bob Iger in 2007, what would you do with the California Adventure
Theme Park to turn things around?
Bob Iger and Disney's leadership team decided to do a major upgrade of the California
Adventure park. Hear about the plans for the park from this news program excerpt.
Video
Do you think Disney's decision to upgrade California Adventure was a good idea?

Let's find out more about this upgrade and what the results were.
Video
2.3.2 The Jobs to be Done Pyramid
Video
Jobs to be Done Architecture:

Here are some of the elements of the architecture Disney has built around the job to be done:

• Job to be Done: Help me escape reality into storytelling experience with my family
• Experience: Everywhere in the park, guests need to feel like they are in a fantasy land
• Integration: Create characters in movies who can roam around the parks and greet
guests; build tall walls so guests can forget the outside world; base rides around stories
rather than thrills

Optional: IKEA's jobs to be done

Learn how IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, focuses on jobs to be done.
Video
Here are some of the key elements that IKEA has build around the job to be done:

• Job to be Done: I need to furnish my home today.

• Experience: At every point of interaction, guests must feel like IKEA services are
convenient and that they can imagine how the furniture would look in their apartment.
The furniture is stylish.
• Integration: The layout of IKEA stores needs to be intuitive. Customers can take furniture
home with them today in easy-to-transport flat-pack boxes.
How do find jobs to be done?
You can identify jobs to be done by observing:

• Yourself: Why do you do what you do?

• Current customers: Why do they buy your product?
• Non-customers: Why do they not buy your product?
• Former customers: Why do they no longer buy your product?
• Compensating behaviors: Inconvenient workarounds people use because there's no
product that fulfills their job to be done well

2.3.3 Brief Case: Minute Clinic

Another great illustration of jobs to be done is found in CVS Pharmacy's Minute Clinic. Minute
Clinic originated with a simple job to be done and has grown into a successful business. We
hope you're beginning to realize how jobs to be done are found all around you and those firms
who can clearly articulate customer jobs to be done have a higher likelihood of success.
Video
Cold Call
As Clay will expound on in the next video, the job to be done that Minute Clinic serves can be
articulated as, "help me to quickly and conveniently, get the healthcare I need without seeing the
doctor."
Video
Recall, that the jobs to be done pyramid above has four categories:
1. Articulating the job to be done
2. Defining the experiences that the customer needs to have to nail the job perfectly
3. Determining how to integrate the organization to deliver the job to be done
4. Creating a purpose brand
For Minute Clinic, here is an example of how the job to be done pyramid could be filled out:
1. Help me to quickly and conveniently, get the healthcare I need without seeing a doctor.
2. Every aspect of the service must allow the patient to get their job done in a "quick" and
"convenient" way.
• The clinic shouldn't take long to get to.
• Filling prescriptions should be simple.
• The healthcare provided should still match the healthcare that one would receive
from a doctor.
3. Minute Clinic should:
• put their clinics in city centers where patients go often,
• place clinics be near pharmacies,
• hire nurse practitioners who can give "doctor-level" service for simple illnesses.
4. The name "Minute Clinic" will resonate with anyone wishing for quick healthcare.

Video
2.4.1 Re-inventing an Indian Conglomerate
Video
The Godrej Group is a fantastic example of a company that has continually re-invented itself as
it has entered many different industries. However, as Godrej hit it's 100th anniversary, leaders at
Godrej began to feel a need to re-invent themselves again. We'll explore the impact that jobs to
be done had in their "re-invention."
Video
Q: How good is your company at looking for growth beyond the core?
Shared: How does this apply to you?
Please state whether you replied "yes" or "no" to the above poll.
If you answered "yes" then please explain what your organization does to find growth beyond
the core.
If you answered "no" then please explain what your organization should do to improve.
Having the ability to look beyond the core is a key component in using jobs to be done to unlock
growth. As we observe Godrej's experience, pay careful attention to how discovering jobs to be
done pushes them to look beyond their core.
Video
Cold Call
Q: Assume for a minute that you are on GS and Hari's team. You go out into the Indian villages
in an attempt to observe and articulate customer jobs to be done in relation to refrigeration
needs. What would you be looking for? What questions might you ask the villagers?

2.4.2 Building Around the Job to be Done

Video
As the Godrej team visited the villages and observed the people, they opened their eyes to new
insights. Let's hear about some more of these insights.
Video

Recall, that the jobs to be done pyramid above has four categories:
a. Articulating the job to be done
b. Defining the experiences that the customer needs to have to nail the job perfectly
c. Determining how to integrate the organization to deliver the job to be done
d. Creating a purpose brand
Q: Shared: Based on what you've learned so far, please;
 a. Articulate the job to be done that Godrej was discovering and (remember to start your
sentence with "Help me...")
b. Define the experiences that the customer needs to have with a cooling system to nail the
job perfectly.
Video (Chotukool)
It is interesting to hear GS describe the Chotukool as "good enough." Godrej was known for
bringing top-notch products to India and yet, Godrej was proud to bring to market a product that
was "good enough." Pursuing jobs to be done focuses you on customers rather than creating the
best product.
Video (New applications of Chotukool)
It's interesting to see how jobs to be done emerged that weren't originally anticipated. Let's hear
how the Chotukool product has impacted the lives of the consumers it was built for.
Video

2.4.3 Reflections and Takeaways

Video (Chotukool, “Small fridge” or improved apparatus for clients with very special
needs)
Optional: How Godrej structured the Chotukool business unit to allow it to thrive
In the Organizing for Innovation module, you will learn how disruptive innovations need to be
grown in a separate business unit in order to succeed. Let's hear how Godrej used this principle
while also taking advantage of the core.
Video (2x) (Observing, spending time with consumers as real commitment)
Identifying compensating behaviors can be key to uncovering business opportunities. A
compensating behavior is any action someone performs to get a job done when there's not a
good product in the market to solve that job. Oftentimes, these behaviors can be inefficient and
frustrating. Let's practice this principle through a simple example.
Q: Shared: In 1999 Procter & Gamble invented a cleaning product called the "Swiffer." The
Swiffer is essentially a disposable mop for cleaning floors. Please answer the following:
How would you articulate the job to be done that the Swiffer serves?
Before the Swiffer was invented, what compensating behaviors do you think P&G observed?
In the previous example, you may have described a compensating behavior as getting on your
hands and knees to scrub and clean a kitchen floor. You can imagine this behavior being tiring
and hard on the knees. Understanding these compensating behaviors not only affects the
invention of a product, but also affects the marketing of a product. P&G, for example, often
portrays the ease and stress-free way to clean a kitchen floor.
Let's now close this case study by hearing some takeaways from Clay's perspective.
Video (Clay’s opinion on Chotukool)
 • JTBD exists independently of things to be hired or products
• Chotukool as new market disruption by making it affordable and accessible to new
customers competing against non-consumption (good enough product)
Q: Shared: How does this apply to you?
What are your 2-3 takeaways for your organization from The Godrej Group case?

2.5.1 Using Jobs to be Done

Video (problem, product, challenge to be improved, opportunities for new growth with
JTBD lenses)
Q: Private: How does this apply to you?
Understanding the job to be done that you identified above, develop 2-3 ideas on how you might
improve the way you develop or market the product.

Q: Private: How does this apply to you?

Identify 1-2 jobs to be done that your organization's products or services haven't traditionally
addressed. How would you recommend reaching customers who have these "jobs"?
Let's revisit the strategic question you posed at the beginning of the course. Some of our past
participants have said that they would like to have the ability to revise their strategic question at
the end of each module. Please feel free to edit your strategic question if your thoughts have
changed. If you're pleased with your strategic question then simply press "submit" to continue.
Q: Private: Answering your Strategic Question
After looking through the lens of Jobs to be Done, what additional insights do you have about
your strategic question?
You have completed the content of the Discovering Customer Jobs to be Done module.
Below you will find two files for download.
Module 2 Survey
Module Feedback
The goal of this module was to learn how to recognize what “jobs to be done” are being fulfilled
by a product or service and to understand how to target consumers based on the job. How
would you rate the Discovering Customer Jobs to be Done module on a scale of 1 to 7 in
accomplishing that goal?
Platform Feedback
Below is a list of statements about the HBS Online course platform. Please indicate the level
with which you agree with each statement. Please note that the scale reads from “Strongly
disagree” on the left to “Strongly agree” on the right.
Thinking specifically about this platform, are there any features in particular (e.g., capabilities,
tools, etc.) that you think Harvard Business School Online should add to the course platform?