Unlock the Power of Innovation: Competing Against Luck and Making the Right Customer Choices

Cecilie: The first chapter is great so be sure not to miss it. If you're new to product discovery, this is a great read to get into the mindset. However, I got pretty bored after the first chapter because it seemed like everything important had already been said. This whole text could have been pared down with fewer words.

United States on Sep 30, 2023

Rajmohan G: One of the key takeaways from the book is the importance of understanding customer needs and creating products and services that solve real problems. The authors argue that companies often fall into the trap of focusing on what they think customers want, rather than what customers actually need. By shifting their focus to the "jobs to be done" that customers are trying to accomplish, companies can gain a deeper understanding of customer needs and create products and services that are truly relevant and valuable.

The book also emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.

Overall, "Competing Against Luck" is a well-researched and thought-provoking book that provides valuable insights and practical strategies for anyone looking to drive innovation and growth in their organization. The authors' approach is clear and concise, and the examples and case studies used throughout the book bring the concepts to life in a way that is both engaging and easy to understand. If you're looking to better understand the process of innovation and how to create and sustain successful products and services, this book is definitely worth...

India on Feb 04, 2023

Tapasya: Before reading this book we all know to some extent that customer centric approach is good for building products but we really don't get into the shoes of customer. This books helps you guide how to get there and with a simple enough framework you can follow in other parts of your life also

India on Jun 09, 2022

TinaN: So much wisdom in this book! I totally recommend it to anyone wanting to start a business. It will give you the knowledge and foundations needed for a successful start.

United Kingdom on Jun 10, 2021

Sambit Kumar Dash: If you have read Innovator's Dillema, Innovator's Choice or any such book by Clayton Christensen the views are always from a producers angle. Technically, the producer comes up with a new product or solution that completely disrupts the market and then market starts adopting it. And the whole saga of the adoption process is described in details with very crisp and well defined examples. This book is actually unique as it describes the innovation from a consumers viewpoint. In some sense, there is nothing completely new that has not been talked about earlier, it tells you to listen to the customer pain points to identify the real need and then build a solution that addresses that need. A very standard product management process to develop a product.

I think other than a terminology variation, like customer hires xyz service or product to address his needs there is nothing quite unique in the book. I felt over the years of research, it's Christensen who has really identified that needs driven innovation actually sticks to produce results. The concepts are told in a very different language, with the hiring terminology but I did not quite find any significant new ideas in the...

India on Mar 20, 2020

Thomas M. Loarie: The crux of success in innovation is adoption. We may think we know what our customers will like, but more often than not, we are surprised and dismayed when we watch our “innovative” product or service flounder after launch.

The odds of creating exactly the right product or service to disrupt a vulnerable incumbent are probably less than 25%. Failure is expensive as it comes late in the development cycle after the investment of time, energy and money.

Best-selling author and Harvard professor Clayton Christensen provides answers and a solution in “Competing Against Luck” which comes after two decades of research where he carefully and inductively observed people who bought and sold things. What is the customer trying to do with the purchase? Why does the seller think the customer needs the product?

He found a big disconnect… and the answer to why adoption is often not achieved. He also found a solution. He urges readers to abandon the old way of framing customer’s needs and look at the customer through a new lens with one question, “What is the customer hiring the product to do? What is the job?”

“The fundamental problem is that...

United States on Jul 11, 2017

Stefan Fritz: Die Gedanken von Clayton M. Christensen kreisen seit mehr als 20 Jahren um das Management von Innovation. In seinem Klassiker aus dem Jahr 1997  Clayton M. Christensen  ging es noch darum, disruptive Innovation zu erkennen und zu erklären, warum gerade etablierte erfolgreiche Unternehmen es schwer haben, solche disruptiven Innovationen immer und immer wieder hervorzubringen und dadurch ihren Fortbestand langfristig zu sichern.
Dieses Buch hier hat eine viel positivere Gesamtaussage: Es gibt eine Theorie, mit der man Innovation zielsicher produzieren und qualifizieren kann. Diese Theorie namens “Jobs to be done“ (JTBD) hat er bereits in früheren Büchern aufgegriffen und beschrieben – damals jedoch noch nicht so auf den Punkt gebracht und ausgereift wie im aktuellen Werk.
Es geht sowohl bei existierenden als auch bei neuen Produkten oder Services immer darum, welche Aufgabe (Job) wir als Individuum damit erledigen. Das ist weit mehr als der Nutzen eines Produktes oder Dienstes. Es ist die subjektive und individuelle Unterstützung bei einer längerfristigen Aufgabe (einem Job).
Die Beispiele eröffnen einem völlig neue Sichtweisen: Welche Aufgabe...

Germany on May 10, 2017

Ian Mann: In 1995 the term “disruptive innovation” was coined by Harvard Professor, Clayton Christensen to describe how certain types of innovation change industries. But this is rare. Most innovation doesn’t amount to much, and fizzles out despite extensive quantitative research and Herculean advertising efforts.

In this book, Christensen et al, offer a simple but profound insight which they call the ‘Theory of Jobs to Be Done.’ The purpose of this insight is to shed light on why people adopt an innovation in large enough numbers to make it a success, and how to identify innovations that will be adopted.

‘The job to be done’, they assert is the causal mechanism for successful innovation. Using this insight enables companies not only to create but also to predict new innovations that will succeed. Phrasing the innovation in this manner allows for a deep understanding of the customers’ need at a more profound level.

To introduce this concept, the authors describe (among other examples,) the “job of a milkshake.” Why would someone “hire” a milkshake? What “job” is the milkshake expected to perform? “We all have jobs we need to do that arise...

United States on Apr 10, 2017