Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

The ultimate guide to JTBD | Bob Moesta (co-creator of the framework)

August 24, 2023

AI Summary

5 min read

Bob Moesta, co-creator of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework with Clay Christensen, explains it as people hiring products to make progress in specific life contexts toward desired outcomes, rather than simply buying based on features or pain points. He draws from 30 years building products across industries, emphasizing struggling moments—situations where context shifts and prompts behavior change—as the root of demand, illustrated through examples like Snickers as a quick energy replacement competing with protein drinks, versus Milky Way for emotional regrouping against wine or a run.

Forces of Switching Products

Progress follows a vector from current context to new outcome, driven by four forces: F1 (push from struggles like missed meals or family responsibilities), F2 (pull toward better states), countered by F3 (anxiety about the new) and F4 (habit of the current solution). People switch only if F1 + F2 exceed F3 + F4. Reducing friction, like bundling storage with condos to ease downsizing, boosts adoption without product changes, as seen in a 30% sales increase.

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What you'll learn

1 `* (00:38) **JTBD Basics: Hiring Products for Progress**`
2 `* (05:51) **Candy Bar Example: True Competition**`
3 `* (07:44) **Struggling Moments Drive Demand: SNHU Case**`
4 `* (10:07) **Forces of Progress: Push, Pull, Anxiety, Habit (F1-F4)**`
5 `* (14:51) **Buyer Timeline & Demand-Side Sales: Autobooks**`
6 `* (18:30) **JTBD Interviewing Process**`
7 `* (27:18) **Interview Tactics & Getting Started**`

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

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Bob Moesta is the co-creator of the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework, a close collaborator of Clay Christensen, and CEO and founder of The Re-Wired Group. He has helped launch more than 3,500 new products, services, and businesses and built and sold several startups himself. He is also a fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute and a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Entrepreneurship, and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In this episode, we discuss:

• What Snickers and Milky Way can teach us about JTBD

• The various flavors of the JTBD framework

• Best practices for implementing the framework

• Advice on conducting interviews for B2B vs. B2C customers

• Common mistakes people make when implementing JTBD

• When not to use it

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-jtbd-bob-moesta

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Where to find Bob Moesta:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/bmoesta

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobmoesta/