Michael Horn applies the Jobs to Be Done framework, usually used for products, to career decisions. An attractive opportunity like a university presidency might not match your actual progress. True clarity comes from defining what job you're really trying to do for yourself.
What if the framework for helping you understand why you buy a milkshake or choose a particular college or buy an iPhone could help you make better life and career choices? I recently joined Peter Winick on his Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast to talk just about that, about how Jobs to Be Done has helped me shape my career and how it's helping others now make better decisions about theirs, too. What struck me is three things from the conversation. One, not every great opportunity is a great opportunity for you. I talked about how I was once offered a university presidency, and it sounded terrific on paper. It still does. But when I understood what progress looked like for me at that time in my career and in my life, it wasn't the right opportunity for me at that time. It wasn't what I truly wanted. Second, clarity comes from understanding the job to be done that you are solving for yourself. And that framework has helped me avoid some mistakes and make some counterintuitive moves that others sort of looked at why are you doing that? But they turned out to be deeply fulfilling in my career. And third, big ideas evolve. So just as disruptive innovation outgrew disk drives, Jobs to Be Done has expanded beyond product design into careers, education and purpose. If you're interested in how business theory can also become a framework for life and what it can guide you toward, I hope you'll give the episode a listen.
