Jobs To Be Done Growth Strategy Development

Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen says that companies need to continue to innovate to grow. His theory of “Jobs to Be Done” is a framework for better understanding customer behavior. While conventional marketing focuses on market demographics or product attributes, Jobs Theory goes beyond superficial categories to expose the functional, social, and emotional dimensions that explain why customers make the choices they do. People don’t simply buy products or services; they pull them into their lives to make progress. This progress is the “job” they are trying to get done, and understanding this opens a world of innovation possibilities.

We are looking for a group of MBAs who will work with us and interface with our customers to help us uncover growth opportunities that are aligned with our business. Specifically, asking questions like:
– Do you have a job that needs to be done?
– Where do you see nonconsumption?
– What work-arounds have people invented?
– What tasks do people want to avoid?
– What surprising uses have customers invented for existing products?

We expect that after a few days of customer discovery, this MBA team will be able to make thoughtful recommendations for our company to pursue.

HOST VENUE ADDRESS

• The students will spend the majority of their time at our HQ at 25 Broadway, FL 12, New York, NY 10004. However, there may be opportunities to travel to some of our host sites to meet with our partners around NYC.
• Students will need to secure transportation and lodging on their own.

REQUIRED PREREQUISITES

• This opportunity would be most ideal for students interested in learning more about educational programming geared for low-income families. Students should have taken an intro strategy class. Marketing and finance backgrounds are also helpful. Proficiency with Microsoft Office is required. PLEASE NOTE: Participants will be required to sign a non-disclosure project agreement regarding the handling of confidential information and intellectual property.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define the role of social enterprises in helping narrow the achievement gap for low-income students and families
• Understand how to conduct informational interviews with customers
• Learn how to differentiate between aligned business opportunities and distractions
• Articulate internal and external forces that influence the triple bottom line
• Enhance relationship-building skills through interactions with the founder, executives and other company employees