Jobs to be done: how to get people to do what they don't want to do

Our 7-year-old daughter is a notorious vegetable sceptic. When it is green, it is regarded with disdain. So, eating broccoli (our desired behaviour) is not high on her to-do list.

But when we turned broccoli into something else, explaining, they are actually little trees that build muscles, it became something she wanted, as she had a climbing and hanging from everything phase.

People rarely want a product for its own sake, they want the progress it helps them make. This underlying motivation to act, is what Clayton Christensen coined as the job-to-be-done. It is vital in getting people to act.

The questions to ask to influence behaviour become:

What is the progress people want to make?

And how can your offering help them get there?

Want to design sustainable behaviour and get people to buy solar panels? A job-to-be-done of someone could be, no longer being dependent on the power grid.

Want to design team behaviour and get people to the office twice a week? A job-to-be-done can be getting recognition from your manager, who actually can notice you when you are in the office.

By the way, jobs- to-be-done can change over time.

The broccoli muscle approach doesn’t work anymore on our daughter. Now she loves to join us in travelling. And abroad, well, she needs to eat different foods. So, now she is willing to taste them.

No green vegetable will stand in her way to see the world.

In conclusion, if you want to motivate people to do something,

Don’t start with your product, service, or policy. Start with what they can help people achieve better in their lives. Something they want or need.

Just remember to ask yourself: How do I ‘sell’ the broccoli?

Sources: Christensen's jobs-to-be-done idea, illustrated by his milkshake case: Clay Christensen's Milkshake Marketing, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/clay-christensens-milkshake-marketing