Journal Articles
Over the past 20 years, Strategyn has worked to transform the jobs-to-be-done innovation theory into an innovation best practice. With numerous articles appearing in Harvard Business Review and MIT / Sloan, Strategyn's innovation theory and methodology have been vetted by academics, thought leaders and industry professionals alike. Many of these articles are available for purchase below. They provide a concise look at some of the ideas and practices that comprise Strategyn's approach to innovation.
The articles written by Strategyn CEO Tony Ulwick and other Strategyn thought leaders, including Lance Bettencourt, PhD, are focused on key concepts discovered and patented by the firm.
In 2002, Clayton Christensen cited Strategyn's innovation theory in his bestselling book, The Innovator’s Solution. Since that time, he and others have written articles that support the jobs-to-be-done innovation theory, the notion of making the “job” the unit of analysis, and other fundamentals of our Outcome-Driven Innovation process.
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The Customer-Centered Innovation Map
In this groundbreaking Harvard Business Review article, Lance Bettencourt and Tony Ulwick reveal an important discovery they made while turning the jobs-to-be-done innovation theory into practice - "job mapping." A job map breaks down a job that customers want to get done into specific process steps enabling the discovery of all the customer's needs.
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FREE DOWNLOAD - Giving Customers a Fair Hearing
In this provocative article in Sloan Management Review, Tony Ulwick and Lance Bettencourt reveal for the first time how a “customer need” must be defined within the jobs-to-be-done framework to become a useful input into the innovation process. This article introduces timeless standards for understanding customer needs.
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Debunking Myths About Customer Needs
In this thoughtful article published by the American Marketing Association, Lance Bettencourt discusses the five myths surrounding customer needs that undermine innovation. He refutes each myth and outlines why they are a negative influence.
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Turn Customer Input into Innovation
In this timeless Harvard Business Review article, Tony Ulwick first introduces the concept of Outcome-Driven Innovation to HBR readers, transforming the jobs-to-be-done innovation theory into a practical and effective innovation process.
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A Prescription for Health Care Reform
Years before President Obama made health care reform a top priority, consumers were clamoring for better health care options. Co-authored by Tony Ulwick, Clayton Christensen and the late Jerome Grossman, this article notes that consumers want inexpensive products to use to achieve better health - without having to repeatedly visit their doctor.
