When Coffee and Kale Compete: Become great at making products people will buy

If you want a crash course in innovation and a UX approach that drives business success, then try When Coffee and Kale Compete."Abandon every MBA, all you who enter..." - Alan KlementAlan Klement's take on Customer Jobs principles challenges what people may understand as a job to be done, or what progress really looks like in a customer's life. It's quite a refreshing read. The case studies are chosen for a reason, so don't gloss over at even the most basic one.Klement cements his idea in the fact that customer progress is more of an ideal in the customer's mind than it is a specific task or job that needs to be done. Providing a solution for a job to be done is a transformative process that the customer participates in. It's a true principle that can be applied to nearly any product or existing solution to a job to be done. ChotuKool is a particularly good example, and is displayed in comparison to Clayton Christensen's take on the subject.Klement identifies that a product's value is placed in a customer's ability to attain life progress by using it. There is a system that customers inherently use to attain life progress. And, a product is a system within the system, etc.Customer Jobs pulls from multiple sources to support its theories, and I think they are well presented in this book.Pick it up, you will learn something about marketplace competition and product design.

This book solved a job I had to be done - namely to try and create better value propositions and fit them into a working business model. I’d been a fan of the Strategyzer canvases for these things, but got frustrated by the fact I couldn’t pin down a value proposition that hooked my customer profiles.I’d misunderstood the Jobs to be done section of the canvas - focusing on activities the customer did not the underlying progress they wanted to make from performing these activities.This book has opened my eyes and I’m looking forward to applying the thinking from now on.

I first read this book a few years ago while Alan was in the process of writing it. I have now read it many, many times over the years.When I first read it, I had been working in the custom enterprise software space for nearly 20 years (as a developer, designer, consultant, manager, etc) and wanted to make a switch toward working with more traditional products. One of the biggest challenges for me as I made that transition was overcoming the habits I had developed when writing custom software requirements. Even complex requirements were relatively easy to document, validate, and develop against. I could not possibly use the same process for designing software that would be sold to a global markett. Also, I had limited experience with marketing and selling a product.Jobs to be Done seemed like a silver bullet -- a way of thinking that I could use to design, market, and sell products. But JTBD was not very popular yet and it was hard for me to find written material to learn about the theory and how others had applied it.It was a huge relief then to find Alan's book. In it, he takes the time to detail the principles of JTBD and to share the stories of how several people applied that way of thinking to products and services they were working on.This book has been a tremendous help to me as I worked through and ompleted the transition out of custom software and in to products.[Disclaimer: I met and got to know Alan as he was writing this book. Our professional relationship has been fruitful as we have collaborated on several projects and continue to work closely.]

There are plenty of take outs for Product Managers in this book. I found some of the content to be repetitive and the book does drag in parts. But overall a great book and there are plenty of actionable insights worth implementing.

Theory itself is simple but hard to actually apply to your business. Some practical examples with a clear direction to follow help me come up with my own JTBD model for my business

I read the first edition, and found it to be a very insightful and thought provoking book on one of the most effective frameworks for thinking about product innovation and marketing - Jobs to be Done. I like that the book is written in a super approachable way, with plenty of interesting and memorable stories that help readers retain the concepts.One thing to know about JTBD is that there are lots of excellent thinkers, writers, and practitioners on JTBD, and some intra-group rivalries have developed. These groups within the JTBD world sometimes disagree bitterly and vocally. I've personally learned a lot by reading and listening to materials from Klement, Intercom, Ulwick, Christensen, thrv, Chris Spiek, Bob Moesta, Jason Fried, etc. Ideas from each of these sources has informed my product management work in valuable ways.

If you are trying to get a better understanding of the Jobs to be Done-concept, do yourself a favor and pick up this excellent book first. There are several different JTBD schools, and this book does a great job of laying out the differences between them.If you, like me, have explored other resources before finding this one, I would recommend starting with reading chapter 16: "Appendix: Know the two – very – different interpretations of Jobs to be Done." It will help you gain a better understanding of the significant differences between what the author calls Jobs-As-Activities and Jobs-As-Progress.This book focuses on the latter concept, and it does so splendidly. I enjoyed reading this well-written book, and am looking forward to starting experimenting with Jobs to be Done in my day-to-day job.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s perspective and found it easy to read. There are a lot of fragments out there and this was the first material I’ve found that walked through the process from theory to implementation.

No one wants to learn (any) theory - with “When Coffee and Kale Compete” not only will you want to learn Jobs to be Done theory, you will want to go and apply it to your own work!I had known about Jobs to be Done (JTBD) for a few years but Christensen’s “Milkshake” case study never really resonated with me. Neither did Ulwick’s books about his laborious ODI method. When I stumbled across “When Coffee and Kale Compete” back in late 2016, things changed dramatically. The book was a real eye-opener. For the first time, I understood what Jobs theory was about - discovering what progress humans are looking to make in their lives and how they pull in solutions (products and services) to help them get to where they want to be. Alan’s clear and concise writing style makes this comprehensive book easily digestible. From the theory’s origins to the description of its principles, the case studies from the interviews with entrepreneurs and the practical tips to get started, this book will help you progress.Since reading “When Coffee and Kale Compete” I have been much more involved with the JTBD community. I have evolved both professionally as a Product Manager and R&D Coach and personally as a husband and dad because I now think more about the “why behind the why”. I ask better questions and thus make better recommendations about what products and services to build (or not to build). Even today, I frequently revisit the book for my research projects.This book is for anyone who is looking for a solid grounding on JTBD theory and practical tips on how to get started with applying it to their work.

Excellent book on JTBD. An absolute marketing fundamental that should be given to every marketing manager in every company in the UK. To be clear, this book isn’t just a ‘theory’ about consumer behaviour or some generic ‘next-gen marketing philosophy’, it’s a detailed step-by-step analysis of how customers truly buy (hire) products. A must-read for anyone who wants to truly put the customer at the centre of their business.

This book is that push you need when coming up with a product and its features. Your head will work non-stop. Easy to read and there is so much valuable information. I am so happy I found this book.

Very good, full of insights and a different way of thinking. Highly recommended when seeking to understand customer needs and build relevant products and solutions.

Esta obra me surpreendeu muito positivamente. O autor traça um panorama de todas as abordagens de JBTD do mercado e deixa claro quais os fundamentos da sua abordagem e porque ela se diferencia de maneira superior as demais.O conceito principal é entender como o usuário/cliente quer fazer um progresso em sua vida ao utilizar seu produto ou serviço. O que ele busca atingir naquele momento vai muito além de um resultado funcional e está conectado com as necessidades maiores do ser humano. Além disso é importante entender quais as dificuldades o cliente enfrenta e quais alternativas ele dispõe para assim vislumbrar o que seria a solução que o levaria a abandonar o status quo e aderir sua proposta.Uma pequena crítica é que às vezes parece que o autor mira somente num contexto de mudança. É quase como que se na sua abordagem ele evitasse uma disputa por um mercado consolidado e considerasse apenas aquele mercado que está sendo "sacudido" de alguma forma. Eu acredito que nos dois cenários há espaço para a inovação e aplicação da teoria.O conceito é simples quando assim descrito, mas a obra traz exemplos excelentes de como a metodologia foi utilizada para direcionar o trabalho de empreendedores seja fundando novas empresas ou modificando empresas existentes.Apesar de já ter lido 4 livros sobre JBTD este foi o que mais aprendi e definitivamente vou recorrer a ele para aprimorar meu conhecimento sobre esta teoria tão promissora.