Have you heard of the concept: Jobs to be Done? Harvard Business Review has a fantastic summary. A more succinct, and ungated, definition from Coursera states: Jobs to be done (JTBD) refers to a business theory, framework, and perspective on why customers buy products. Jobs to be done theory, also called jobs theory, posits that people don’t buy products; they “hire” them to do jobs, such as solving a problem or fulfilling a desire.
JTBD is one of those few business jargon words that I heard, never knew what it really meant, but seemed intuitive enough that I could use it in a sentence. That limited understanding ultimately benefited me when I was recently struggling to reorient myself with career obstacles.
In my "day job" as a marketer, and still being fairly new, the little annoyances that we all face began compounding. Our technology isn't working correctly. Teams work in silos. There's limited resources. Blah blah blah.
This was not an unfamiliar feeling and I knew how to fix the situation. The fix was me. I had control to look at these situations not as annoyances and obstacles, but as opportunities. I am getting paid to solve problems. I am getting paid to learn!
Like a lightning bolt, that's when the idea struck me: what are my Jobs to be Learned (JTBL)?
A goal and outcome of my sabbatical was to define career goals for myself. Of course having goals doesn't mean they get accomplished, or can't change and evolve. But it gave me direction I hadn't had in years. Even better, defining big goals allowed me to break them down into smaller goals. Goals that I can accomplish on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and bi-annual basis. Of course some of those goals require learning. Holy shit--I had already been operating under Jobs to be Learned.
The obstacles in front of me took on a completely new view. I found the excitement I'd been missing. The path forward was ahead of me.
So what are Jobs to be Learned? Simple: these are the jobs you must learn to do, then actually do, in order to progress to the next job you want to do.
I want to pivot into product marketing. That means I need to know how to perform customer research, customer journey mapping, persona building, and go-to-market strategy. And that means I need to learn how to contact new customers, how to document customer journey flow, how to perform first and third party research. And so and so on.
Knowing what my JTBL are, I can now lean into the opportunities that present themselves. My current situation may not be comprehensive for all the jobs I want to learn, but I won't turn away from the ones I can take advantage of.
Let's be honest, this is simply a reframing of the learning process itself. And that's fine. Some times reframing, rephrasing, or hearing the same thing from someone else is all it takes to finally land a message or lesson. For me, JTBL is helping me see the opportunities in obstacles, when before I couldn't. I love to learn. Any time I can feel like I'm learning I get excited and can view friction as a positive. You cannot grow without being uncomfortable. Even better, I'm getting paid to learn. And my current Jobs to be Learned will lead to newer, bigger, and better opportunities.
Keep looking for the opportunities in your obstacles.
James
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