Jobs To Be Done

Are you familiar with the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory? As Theodore Levitt said, “people do not want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter inch hole.” People buy goods and services to get jobs done. Our needs change less than the ways we may meet our needs. When we quit simply trying to make better quarter-inch drills and really dig into our needs and the jobs we’re trying to do…that’s when significant innovation happens.

What if we apply this mindset to placemaking? What would it look like, at the start of each project, to dig into:

• What do the people here need to flourish?

• What does the land here need to flourish?

• How can we design systems that get the entire job done?
  

If you can take the time, watch this one-hour lecture by Bill Reed of Regenesis Group for a deeper look at how to understand what life and a place might be trying to do and how we might be able to help her do that. (Also watch the shorter videos on the Regenesis site.)

If this approach scares the business or practical side of you, guess what Tennant 8 of the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory says?

People seek out products and services that enable them to get the entire job done on a single platform.

Remember, it’s good business, too.