After it was mentioned in “Second Brain” and was waiting in my reading list for a long time, I finally listen to “Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation” by Stephen Wunker, Jessica Wattman, and David Farber. Here are my thoughts about it –
1. Examples relevancy – The book was published in 2016 are brings several examples – slack, snapchat, etc. Are those examples still relevant? Do they still emphasize the relevant points?
This problem is not unique to this book. One often finds an anecdote and uses it to emphasize or justify a theory. As time passes, the perspective also changes, and it sometimes differs from the theory.
2. Multiple stakeholders – B2B purchasing procedures frequently involve a varied group of stakeholders, each with their unique jobs to be done. This point of view is often not thought of and has great implications for how sales should done.
3. Emotional and Social Components – jobs to be done are not only functional tasks such as getting from here to there, wearing something, etc. Jobs to be done also have emotional and social components that should be addressed.
4. Obstacles to use and obstacles to adoption – Obstacles to adoption are challenges that restrict a consumer’s inclination to purchase a product or service. Facilitating the ease with which people can learn about and experiment with your new offering can diminish obstacles to adoption. Obstacles to use refer to impediments that hinder success, ultimately reducing a customer’s probability of ongoing product usage, acquiring supplementary features, or upgrading to more recent editions. I love this insight, and it is an important distinction, especially when one needs to prioritize.
5. Effective Brainstorming – brainstorming is discussed in long in one of the chapters. Personally, I have many doubts about group brainstorming as a way to encourage creativity. If there is one thing to take from this discussion, such a session should be well-mederated. See more here.
Tom Ron 