Page 58 · Module 02, Design Your Business · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksJobs To Be Done
Your customers describe your product differently than you do. Your retention is lower than
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
The competing jobs answer is the most valuable. When a customer churns, they don't leave for nothing they hire something else to do the job. Ask AI to map the most likely 'competitor hires' for your product. The answer will surprise you.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should stress-test your business model? Business models fail quietly — not all at once, but one flawed assumption at a time. The roles on this page represent the perspectives that expose those assumptions before the market does. Use internal roles to build and refine your model. Use outside perspectives to find the gaps your optimism is covering.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solvesit should be. People churn and you don't understand why. You're optimising features nobody really cares about.
How the framework works
From the printed pageDeveloped by Clayton Christensen at Harvard Business School, Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) is a lens for understanding why customers 'hire' a product. People don't buy products, they hire them to do a job. That job has three layers: a Functional job (the practical task), a Social job (how they want to be seen doing it), and an Emotional job (how they want to feel). The product that best does all three layers of the job wins. Most products only address the functional layer.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderInterview 5 real customers using the JTBD prompt below, don't survey, talk.
Focus on the moment they decided to look for a solution, that's where the real job lives.
Map the three job layers for your product: functional, social, emotional.
Check your marketing: does it speak to all three layers or only the functional one? Understand the real reason customers buy, not what they say When Spotify analysed why users churned, the job wasn't 'listen to music' it was 'fill the silence during my commute.' That insight shifted their focus toward playlist curation and seamless playback. They stopped competing on catalogue size and started competing on moment. IN PRACTICE
Where the framework comes from
Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School — JTBD theory, 1990s–2000s
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 02 — Design Your Business
Shape what you're building so it deserves to exist.
10 frameworks, printed on pages 49–68.
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