The ultimate guide to JTBD | Bob Moesta (co-creator of the framework)

Most people think their job is supposed to do everything for them and the reality is it's not. And so part of it's being able to help them balance that out and realize that even in a situation that you think is horrible, there's a lot of things you're learning in the middle of it.

There's difference between product features and product experiences, and what you start to realize is it's the experiences that keep you at your job. It's not just about the money because you start to realize money is a surrogate for respect, or I've got bills to pay or I'm falling behind.

Moesta is discussing sales teams at Autobooks who were surveying potential bank customers about their interest versus tracking actual purchasing decisions.

53% of the people who basically said they got more money, did not get more money. They told the company they had more money because they knew they couldn't argue with having them come back because they got more money.

You need to take responsibility for your career and where you want to go. And this is on you. And so the reality is you can let somebody else do it and you can try to morph yourself to fit other people. But I will tell you, you will be way better off if you spend the time to figure out who you are and find a job that matches who you are.

The moment you stop making progress in your career is the moment you start looking for another job.

Employees hire companies more than companies hire employees.

I can actually pay people less if I give them better experiences. And so ultimately I can actually do more and then I just don't count on them staying so long.

When you overpay people, what happens is that they actually become more and more scared that they will lose it, and then they become more and more conservative because they don't want to rock the boat and they actually don't work.

You need to take responsibility for your career and where you want to go. And this is on you. And so the reality is you can let somebody else do it and you can try to morph yourself to fit other people. But I will tell you, you will be way better off if you spend the time to figure out who you are and find a job that matches who you are.

The moment you are comfortable doing nothing, you know who you are again, and you can actually figure this out.

Most people spend 95% of their time doing the work that sucks their energy so they get the 5% of the joy of the work they do. And what I realized is that if you can pull that ratio to 40% energy drive or drain or 50 50, you don't even know you're working anymore.

The moment you stop making progress in your career is the moment you start looking for another job.

How do I get the job to fit the person as opposed to trying to find the person to fit the job? Because when you find good people, it's like, yeah, they fit, but they're just not perfect. And then you let them go. And the reality is what you probably want to do is actually find a way to get that person in and figure out how to actually reshape the job to fit that person.

Moesta is explaining that career changes and purchasing decisions appear random but are actually caused by specific circumstances and context.

Nobody randomly changes jobs, it's just not possible. And so the reality is you can describe it that way and most people would say Lucky is random, but the reality is it's caused and if it's now caused, you start to actually realize that context has a lot of impact in it.

Bob Moesta is co-creator of the Jobs to Be Done framework and serial entrepreneur discussing post-startup recovery strategies.

When you're in a startup, it changes who you are and the moment that you get out of that environment, you need to take the time to reset your mind and your body. I call it a jobcation, which is a job I can go do with one hand tie by hide my back so I can rest and recover to go do something else.

The moment you are comfortable doing nothing, you know who you are again, and you can actually figure this out.