Book Sips #52 — ‘The Jobs To Be Done Playbook’ by Jim Kalbach
T
he first time I heard about the notion of jobs-to-be-done it blew my mind (opposite to my cat, apparently bored by it): your customers aren’t looking for your product, but for a solution to their problems! Think of the classical example, a driller. You don’t want to make a hole in your wall, you just want to hang your holidays’ picture. People research and compare among different options to get their thing done, regardless of the industry, features, or what have you that is or isn’t in your product. If it’s not oriented to help them with their task, they’ll easily take another path.
‘The Jobs-to-be-done playbook: Align Your Markets, Organisations, and Strategy Around Customers Needs’ by Jim Kalbach structure is smart: each chapter is independent of the rest and you can use those as sort of recipes you can mix and match for distinct purposes (it includes given recipes at the end as well). From mapping the different jobs and the actors involved to conducting jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) interviews and understand the problem space, this book is the ultimate guide to instigate a customer-centric view in your org and build the strategy around it, using a framework that everyone can understand and use independently, yet connecting its different parts. A sip:
“Trying the overall plan to customer needs gives the design and development teams the feeling that they are building something that matters to customers. Staying focused on customer needs helps avoid building things your customers don’t want. The nature of a job stays the same, even as features may shift. Ground the roadmap in JTBD ensures that both its longevity and ability to absorb will change.”
👉 Your competitors aren’t those that just offer the same thing you are, think JTBD!
#joshdixit
The Jobs To Be Done Playbook
by Jim Kalbach
Why read?
Ever wondered how to apply the so-called JTBD framework? Normally this kind of books are 90% theory and the rest actionable, in this case, it’s completely the opposite: a playbook that allows you to take immediate action and upskill your game!
320 pages, Two Waves Books (Rosenfeld Media), 2020
Get this book here on Amazon!
