Competing Against Luck: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Competing Against Luck, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Customers hire products for jobs
Christensen and his co-authors argue that customers do not simply buy products; they hire them to do a job in their lives.
Understanding the job customers need done is the key to successful innovation.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
A milkshake did a morning job
The authors describe a fast-food chain that wanted to sell more milkshakes.
Researchers found many customers bought them in the morning to make long commutes less boring, which changed how the product could be improved.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Circumstances matter more than demographics
The authors argue that the circumstances in which people need something matter more than their age or income.
The same person may hire different products in different situations. A rushed morning and a lazy holiday call for different products.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
People seek progress
The authors describe jobs as the progress people want to make in particular situations.
Products succeed when they help this progress. In this view, people do not buy a product for its own sake; they bring it into their lives to solve a particular problem.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Jobs have many dimensions
The authors explain that jobs have functional, social and emotional dimensions.
Understanding all of them helps design better products. A product may do its task well but still fail if it makes the user feel embarrassed, or does not suit how others see them.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
A university found its job
The authors describe Southern New Hampshire University, which grew by understanding what adult online students needed.
It focused on convenience and support. The university grew by making studying easier for adults who were busy with jobs and family, rather than copying what other colleges did.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Innovation can be less risky
The authors argue that understanding jobs makes innovation less dependent on luck.
Companies can predict success better. In this view, when a firm knows what task customers want done, it can build the right product instead of hoping to get lucky.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Organisations should focus on jobs
The authors suggest that companies organise around customers' jobs rather than products.
This keeps them focused on real needs. If a company arranges its teams around what customers are trying to get done, it is less likely to wander into products nobody needs.
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