The Job Theory is undoubtedly the next-generation innovation bible! ~Me, Israel, and Occasional Curry~

2017 is almost over. For those who set goals in January, did you manage to achieve them? To be honest, I can't even remember what my goals for this year were...

In this column, I would like to take the liberty of introducing Clayton M. Christensen's "The Job Theory: The Mechanism of Consumption that Makes Innovation Predictable" (HarperCollins Japan), which unravels the reasons for innovative success in the world, along with my own review of the year.

The era is shifting from "consumption" to "employment." The theory of jobs that "should be done."

"Why did you buy that milkshake?"

When asked this question, almost no consumer can give an accurate answer. Price? Taste? Design? Even if such words come up, it is obvious that they are not the consumer's true feelings.

So, what if we adopt the perspective of the "job lens" mentioned in this book?

"Excuse me, could you tell me something? What purpose (job) did you come to this store to buy a milkshake for?"

Interviews were actually conducted using this perspective. Interestingly, it succeeded in uncovering consumers' thinking from various angles, rather than just focusing on price or taste.

"I have to endure a long, boring drive to work."

"Donuts make crumbs fall everywhere, and your hands get greasy—ruining the steering wheel."

"Bagels are dry and tasteless—and if I want to spread jam, I have to drive with my knees."

"I tried Snickers once, but eating sweet snacks for breakfast... I felt guilty..."

"It's so thick! With a straw, it takes about 20 minutes. - As long as it holds me over till lunch. It fits perfectly in the car's cup holder too." (P33)

At least in the commuting scenario, this book expresses the concept of defining "comfortable driving and naturally satisfying hunger until lunch" as the "job," and "hiring" the milkshake to do it.

In this way, it frames "consumption" as "hiring" (i.e., a means) and defines the life challenges consumers face (≈ the reason for purchase) as "jobs that need to be done." This, the book argues, is the Job Lens approach for discovering not just the "correlation" that much data has revealed, but the "causation."

Doesn't this alone make you feel like your entire worldview shifts?

Why Israel Hacks the World

In September 2017, I participated in WIRED's "Wired Real World Tour," a journey seeking the reasons behind innovation, and visited Israel. What I witnessed there was the Job Theory in action.

Israel, the innovation powerhouse, boasts the world's highest number of engineers per capita and ranks second globally in R&D investment per GDP...

You'd expect it to be overflowing with a mindset of "solving the world's problems and ushering in a better era," but in reality, it's the complete opposite.

Their mindset is: "We do it because it's profitable and we have overwhelming technology."

When I first heard this, I was stunned.

But applying Job Theory reveals how perfectly rational this is.

Airobotics aimed to be hired as the solution for the "job" of acquiring map data from the air, even in dangerous locations, by developing fully autonomous drones that handle maintenance.

Similarly, Mobileye positions itself to be hired as the most critical "eyes" for automobiles by specializing in developing "cameras with control systems" for autonomous vehicles, boasting unmatched precision.

This relentless focus on the job and the ambition to become the undisputed go-to entity in that field—this, I felt, is precisely why it is now recognized globally as the holy land for startups.

(As for why such a mindset enables technology ownership and the unique national mechanisms behind it, that's a topic for another time.)

What is a "Purpose Brand" where Job and Brand merge?

The Job Theory presented in this book defines the future king of brands using the term "Purpose Brand."

Uber
IKEA
LinkedIn
OpenTable
…

Products that consistently deliver the right experience to solve a customer's job speak to them like this: "The search is over—choose me!" (P220)

IKEA became a purpose brand for the job "I want to finish setting up my apartment's furniture today." (P220)

The demand for one-job-one-hire services and their ability to break through in market cap isn't just an overseas phenomenon. Isn't this also proven by the case of "CASH," where the item in front of you instantly turns into money, which was acquired by DMM at breakneck speed?

Curry? Salad? Instagrammable? "Redefining the job"

Discovering or redefining new jobs to create new employment (hires).

This is precisely what I believe to be the most crucial activity for creating services today.

For example, take curry, a national dish... What happens when we redefine it?

One example is " 6curry, " a service I'm involved in planning and producing pro bono.

If we imagine a job like "I want to enjoy delicious curry anytime, anywhere, guilt-free like a salad," then this handy, healthy product available via UberEATS could be one answer.

We should aim for purpose-driven brands that transcend chasing fleeting trends like the 2017 buzzword "Instagrammable."

Finally, while Job Theory is conceptually noteworthy, its only drawback is that overuse can make your phrasing sound like Rū Ōshiba's. (Curry-related pun intended!) Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

[Dentsu Inc. Modern Communication Lab]