Thread by @businessbarista

In 1990, Tony Ulwick created "Jobs to Be Done," a framework that has enabled next-level product innovation.

But you don't need to be in product to benefit from this way of thinking.

Read on to learn the framework & how to apply to your work today👇

Jobs to Be Done asks a very simple question.

"What job is your product hired to do?"

It forces you to view things from the perspective of the customer.

And it makes you realize people don't buy products & services.

They search for solutions that help them get jobs done.

Take lawnmowers, for example.

If you ask the layperson, what's the purpose of a lawnmower, they'd respond "To cut grass, obviously."

But that's not the job a lawnmower does.

A lawnmower's job is to keep grass low in order to maintain a lawn's beauty.

It seems like a small nuance, but it's a total shift in perspective.

Now, if you're the lawnmower company, you have so many options.

Maybe rather than creating better lawnmowers, you invest profits in R&D to find grass seeds that only grow so tall.

Same job is being done.

It's a simple example, but as I thought more about it, I realized that "jobs to be done" is applicable far beyond product innovation.

It applies to everything you do at work.

Your business is your customer.
You (the employee) are providing your business your services.

And as you start to think about work this way, I think two things may open up for you:

FIRST, spending time on non-obvious things could be the most obviously right time spent.

Like:
• Outsourcing work instead of doing it
• Disagreeing with your team
• Buying a solution rather than building it
• Talking to your customer vs. serving them

SECOND, the most important job for you to do could be thinking about the right job to do.

Time is your scarcest resource.
Your goal is to best leverage your time.

Doing a job isn't high leverage, but figuring out the job to do is.

Next time you start to write down your priorities for the day, don’t feel the need to rush the process.

Take your time and be really thoughtful.

5 extra minutes spent on figuring out the right job could mean avoiding 5 extra hours doing the wrong job.

Thanks so much for reading!

Want more threads on smart work and entrepreneurship? Shoot me a follow: twitter.com/businessbarista

Want to go deeper into "Jobs to Be Done"? Listen to my recent @FoundersPod on the topic:

apple.co/3sdKv8T OR spoti.fi/3a5td7C