I was speaking at a product management conference recently when something happened that perfectly illustrates the problem with how people approach Jobs to be Done (JTBD).
After my talk, a line of people formed to chat with me, all buzzing with excitement.
“This is exactly what we need!” one VP of Product told me. “It’s going to revolutionize how we understand our customers”.
Another looked at me straight: “Bob, this changes everything. We’ve got to implement JTBD across our entire organization, it’s the only way to scale.”
These weren’t just polite conference nods… these people genuinely got it. They understood the foundations of Jobs: customers don’t buy products; they hire them to make progress in their lives.
But then came the follow-up emails six months later.
“Bob, we tried JTBD, but our customer insights haven’t improved.” “We mapped out jobs, but our product development is still missing the mark.” “The team is frustrated – they say JTBD is just fancy language for what we already knew.”
Here’s what happened:
They absorbed the theory but stumbled over the application. The gap between understanding Jobs to be Done as a concept and using it to drive business results is littered with mistakes. Predictable ones at that. These aren’t random errors – they’re pitfalls that even smart, well-intentioned teams fall into.
The problem isn’t that JTBD doesn’t work. It’s that most people don’t realize how easy it is to get it wrong. They think if they understand the concept, they can skip the nuances.
But those nuances? That’s where all the value lives.
Mistake #1: Getting lost in abstraction levels
The biggest pitfall I see? Teams can’t find the sweet spot for abstraction. They swing wildly between extremes, and both kill their chances of success.
The Re-Wired Group worked with a software company whose CEO told us, “Our job is to help people be more productive.”
Too high. When you abstract that broadly, you’re competing with everything from coffee to meditation apps.
“This product has the potential to open up a $15 billion market”… this kind of approach is likely to build a product so generic that nobody felt it solved their specific struggle.
On the flip side, I’ve seen teams go microscopic.
“We help accountants in Denver reconcile quarterly reports on Tuesdays.” This example, whilst a little sarcastic, highlights the issue of being too narrow.
Build something that has too narrow a market, and you’ll likely spend six months building for three people.
Interested in learning more? Learn how to unpack abstract language in interviews.
What you’re looking for is the actionable insight.
Find that jagged middle ground where you can identify three to five clear JTBDs. You want it broad enough to group substantial segments of people with similar circumstances, yet tight enough that you can’t shoehorn people from completely different situations into the same “job.”
When you nail this abstraction level, two things become possible: you can meaningfully define all eight elements of the JTBD, and you can look at any customer and confidently say, “They belong in this job because of these specific circumstances.”
Mistake #2: Confusing intent with demographics
Here’s where I see the most expensive mistakes happen. Teams create detailed buyer personas based on age, income, and lifestyle, then wonder why their “perfect target customer” won’t buy.
I was talking to a food company executive once, who told me, “We’re targeting health-conscious millennials who shop at Whole Foods.”
But when we interviewed their actual customers, we found a 55-year-old buying the same product. When asked why, she said, “My daughter is coming to visit, and I want her to think I’m taking care of myself.”
People act based on their circumstances and what they’re trying to accomplish, not their demographic profile.
A twenty-year-old driving a sports car isn’t defying demographics – they’re buying that car for a specific Job that likely has nothing to do with their age or income.
Mistake #3: Mistaking personas for Jobs
“Aren’t jobs just personas?” I hear this constantly. No – and confusing them is costly.
Personas describe groups of people who typically act certain ways. Jobs explain how someone acts in a specific context.
Let’s say your customers are clean eaters who want organic everything. But, when you visited them in their homes, you found chocolate bars and ice cream tucked away.
“How did that get there?” you ask your customer. She slumps her shoulders: “You know those days when everything goes wrong? I’m not buying ice cream to be healthy – I’m hiring it to cope with my terrible day.”
That’s a Job. The moment of struggle, the trade-off, the specific outcome she’s seeking. Personas would never capture that nuance.
Mistake #4: Making Jobs about people instead of moments
People hire different solutions for different jobs throughout the same day. I might buy a milkshake at 8 in the morning for completely different reasons than at 3 in the afternoon.
The morning milkshake Job could be something like: “I need something substantial but not too sweet – I don’t want to feel like I’m having dessert for breakfast.”
The afternoon Job, on the other hand, could read a little like this: “I want a treat to reward myself for getting through a tough presentation.”
Same person, same product, completely different jobs. The circumstances and desired outcomes changed everything.
Summary
JTBD isn’t just theory. It’s a practical set of tools for understanding customer behavior. But like any tool or framework, it’s only valuable when used correctly.
Avoid these common pitfalls, focus on the specific circumstances driving customer decisions, and remember: progress is what people hire your product to make, not the features you think are clever.