Journal Articles
Over the past 20 years, the jobs-to-be-done theory has been transformed into practice by Strategyn. With numerous articles appearing in Harvard Business Review and MIT / Sloan, Strategyn's methodology has been vetted by academics, thought leaders and industry professionals alike. Many of these articles are available for purchase below. They provide a concise look at some of the ideas and practices that comprise Strategyn's approach to innovation.
The articles authored by Strategyn CEO Tony Ulwick and other Strategyn thought leaders are focused on key concepts discovered and patented by the firm. In 2002, Clayton Christensen cited this thinking in his bestselling book, The Innovator’s Solution. Since that time he and others have written articles that support making the “job” the unit of analysis offer insights into how this thinking improves market segmentation, business model creation and other important elements of business.
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The Customer-Centered Innovation Map
May 2008, Harvard Business Review
In this groundbreaking Harvard Business Review article, Lance Bettencourt and Tony Ulwick reveal an important discovery they made while turning the jobs-to-be-done innovation theory into practice -- "job mapping." This process breaks down a job that customers want to get done into specific steps, helping organizations to better understand customer needs and create valued solutions. This tool, which resulted from years of practical application, provides a way for companies to define their markets, gives them a universal framework for discovering opportunities, and helps them create breakthrough products and services. -
FREE DOWNLOAD - Giving Customers a Fair Hearing
Spring 2008, MIT Sloan Management Review
Has anyone in your company ever worked on a project in which all the customer’s needs were known? Is there agreement in your company as to what a customer need is? Before a company can predictably create value, it must know how customers measure value. In this provocative article in Sloan Management Review, Tony Ulwick and Lance Bettencourt reveal for the first time how a “need” must be defined to become a useful input into the innovation process. This article refutes much of the existing Voice of the Customer theory and introduces timeless standards for understanding customer needs using the jobs-to-be-done framework. -
Debunking Myths About Customer Needs
February 2009, American Marketing Association
In this thoughtful article published by the American Marketing Association, Lance Bettencourt discusses the five myths surrounding customer needs that undermine innovation. He refutes each myth and outlines why they are a negative influence. Bettencourt believes that even though the front end of innovation has seen its own set of process challenges, companies can still forge successful innovation initiatives by forming correct beliefs about customer needs -- and their true value in the innovation process. -
Turn Customer Input into Innovation
January 2002, Harvard Business Review
In this timeless Harvard Business Review article, Tony Ulwick first introduces the concept of Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) to HBR readers, bringing the jobs-to-be done thinking to the forefront of innovation theory. Drawing on his work with Cordis Corporation (now a division of Johnson & Johnson), Ulwick explains how the ODI process works and how it was used by Cordis to elevate the company into a leadership position in the angioplasty balloon market. This article also introduces the opportunity algorithm – a method that has become a standard practice for prioritizing customer needs. In March 2002, HBR voted ODI methodology one of the top business ideas of the year. -
A Prescription for Health Care Reform
March 2003, Harvard Business Review
Years before President Obama made health care reform a top priority, consumers were clamoring for better health care options. Co-authored by Tony Ulwick, Clayton Christensen and the late Jerome Grossman, this article notes that consumers want inexpensive products to use to achieve better health -- without having to repeatedly visit their doctor. This finding signals that the health care market is ripe for disruption, as consumers want products that do not currently exist. Offered by Harvard Business Review, this article represents some of the original thinking on jobs-to-be-done theory. -
Reinventing Your Business Model
December 2008, Harvard Business Review.
Mark Johnson, Clayton Christensen, and Henning Kagermann offer readers an
important insight into business model creation in this award-winning Harvard
Business Review article. They maintain that an effective business model
incorporates a solid understanding of the job the customer is trying to get
done. An organization must also have the right set of operational processes
required for product or service delivery and a profit formula that ensures growth.
This article explains how the jobs-to-be-done theory is fundamental to the
creation of an effective business model. -
Finding the Right Job for Your Product
April 2007, MIT Sloan Management Review
An organization's market segmentation scheme helps determine what
products a company develops, how they are brought to market, and how large they
believe the market opportunities to be. In this article, Clayton Christensen explains
that segmentation based on demographics or product category is a poor indicator
of customer behavior. Rather, he says, customers "just find themselves
needing to get things done." He supports the argument that jobs-based thinking
is the key to market segmentation success. -
Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and the Cure
December 2005, Harvard Business Review
Co-authored by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott Cook, and Taddy Hall, this
Harvard Business Review article underscores the importance of a
marketer's task in understanding the jobs a customer is trying to get done. It explains
how jobs-based thinking can help a company design the right products, grow
product categories and build brands that customers will hire. -
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail
January 2007, Harvard Business Review
In this Harvard Business Review classic, John Kotter shares his observations on organizational change. He notes that companies hoping to survive long-term have to re-invent themselves to be more competitive. However, he finds that eight large mistakes can doom an organization's efforts. Kotter goes on to explain how companies can achieve success -- a particularly relevant topic for today's economically challenging times.
