Bob Moesta

Co-Founder & CEO at The Rewired Group

Co-creator of the Jobs-to-be-Done framework alongside Clay Christensen; serial entrepreneur who has started nine companies; author of Job Moves, a tactical guide to finding work you love based on interviewing and coaching thousands of job seekers.

The Operator The Craftsperson 2 appearances

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 64%

Execution & Craft 50%

Data & Experimentation 48%

Growth & Distribution 34%

Team & Leadership 52%

User Empathy & Research 90%

Key Themes

Jobs-to-be-Done framework demand-side vs supply-side thinking context makes irrational rational hiring products for progress true competitive set discovery customer switching behavior

Episode Summary

Bob Moesta, co-creator of the Jobs-to-be-Done framework with Clay Christensen, provides a definitive deep dive into JTBD, explaining that people hire products to make progress, not based on features. Using his famous Snickers vs Milky Way example, he demonstrates how JTBD reveals the true competitive set from the demand side, and explains why context and outcome — not pain and gain — are the real drivers of customer behavior.

Leadership Principles

→ People don't buy products, they hire them to make progress in their life — understand the job, not the product
→ Context and outcome, not pain and gain, are the true drivers — the context makes the irrational rational
→ Jobs-to-be-Done reveals the true competitive set from the demand side, not the supply side — Snickers competes with Red Bull, not Milky Way

Notable Quotes

"One of the biggest misconceptions around Jobs to Be Done is this notion that it's pain and gain as opposed to context and outcome. When you hear somebody's story and it seems irrational, nine times out of 10, it's because you don't have the rest of the story."
— On the most common misunderstanding of JTBD

"Snickers typically is a case where they missed the last meal, they're running out of energy. It competes with a protein drink, a Red Bull, a coffee. But a Milky Way is eaten after an emotional experience, usually alone. It competes with a glass of wine, a brownie, and a run."
— His classic Snickers vs Milky Way example of demand-side competitive analysis

"Jobs helps you see the true competitive set from the demand side of the world as opposed to the competitive set from the supply side. It allows you to actually see what customers really want as opposed to trying to figure out how to sell things to people."
— On the fundamental shift JTBD brings to product thinking

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