How Dialexa Takes Care of “Jobs to be Done” Innovation

By Adam Rose

The “Jobs to be Done” theory of innovation might be about 5 years old now, but it’s seeing a resurgence with Clayton Christensen’s new book, Competing Against Luck.

And why wouldn’t we love the “Jobs to be Done” framework at Dialexa? It fits right in with our focus on the “why” for our clients and our design thinking approach to projects.

When clients come to us, we ask one question first — do you know what your business will look like tomorrow? From that moment on, we solve specific business problems by focusing on the “job to be done.”

HIRING DIALEXA IS LIKE HIRING A MILKSHAKE

If you’re familiar with the “jobs to be done” theory at all, you’ve probably heard of the fastfood milkshake example Christensen uses to explain the process. If you have no idea what this means, check out the video below:

Similar to when you hire a milkshake, you have to evaluate your options when looking to create disruptive change with innovative technology in your business.

You could “hire” your internal operational team; you could “hire” some disruptive competition through acquisition; or you could just succumb to fear of the future and do nothing while disruptors pass you by.

Many would go the traditional route and hire a respected IT firm — one that can repeatedly execute a commoditized business model. But this won’t give you the customized product necessary for disruption.

That’s why companies turn to Dialexa and a “jobs to be done” approach.

DIALEXA IS BUILT AND OPERATED WITH “JOBS TO BE DONE” IN MIND

When we ask people what their businesses will look like tomorrow, they often answer with a business problem, some sort of plan where they require our capabilities to execute against, or they have no idea at all. If they have a plan, they can execute about 60% to 80% of the project — but they need a custom partner to push them over the edge.

There are three main ways that we are built and operated to fulfill the “jobs to be done” theory and deliver the custom problem solving our clients need:

• Dialexa Structure: Because people are hiring us to be innovative, we need to make sure we’re as flat as possible internally. Our project teams can’t have unnecessary hoops to jump through when they’re trying to execute. That’s why our office layout is pod-based — as project teams form, those people sit together to facilitate collaboration. Not only that, but we make sure to hire highly distributed talent. Hardware people who can step into QA, project managers that can design software, etc. This structure helps us move quickly and innovate for our clients.
• Dialexa Organization: Transparency is important for the success of our projects. We’re transparent with clients on project statuses and ensure we have client involvement on a day-to-day basis. Being transparent helps us establish good communication through different channels so we can maintain an agile approach.
• Dialexa Operations: Minimum viable bureaucracy is a cornerstone of our operations. As more clients turn to us, we have to make sure we keep bureaucracy streamlined so we can deliver service consistently. To foster innovation within our workforce, we make sure to invest in time for education (lunch and learns, book clubs, etc.) as well as time for personal projects(innovation alley is our recent idea to get people together to discuss projects and demo them for each other).

In the end, these three values allow us to solve business problems, deliver on long-term plans, and get companies ready to compete against emerging digital competition.

But no matter how you approach the “jobs to be done” framework, one thing is clear — clients can’t expect to foster long-term innovation without the right enterprise technology strategy. If you want to learn more about leveraging technology to transform your business, download our free ebook, Enterprise Technology for Business Outcomes.

Originally published at https://by.dialexa.com/jobs-to-be-done-innovation.

At Dialexa we start by asking “Do you know what your business will look like tomorrow?” Whether you have a plan, a problem or no idea, connect with us to explore the right answers for you.