Competing Against Luck: The Essence of Customer Choices and Business Innovations with Analysis of "Jobs to Be Done" Theory

Many companies see innovation as their key driving force, but some have chosen the wrong direction or have put their efforts in the wrong place to achieve this. As a result, innovation has been almost reduced to simply a game of chance. However, this book, Competing Against Luck, answers the question of where exactly to look for innovation opportunities. Giving a hint to what the book is about through its title.

As a result of 20 years of refinement, this team, consisting of the foremost authorities on innovation and growth, have introduced the theory of “Jobs to Be Done” as the core concept in Competing Against Luck. How should we then understand the theory of “Jobs to Be Done”? As Harvard marketing professor Ted Levitt once put it: “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” Customers buy a product not necessarily to own it but to “hire” it to complete “Jobs to Be Done”. Therefore, from a jobs perspective, we’ll be able to find innovation opportunities for our companies.