At a recent meeting of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 279, about 60 experts from 30-plus countries engaged in a spirited discussion and debate about how to help organizations of all shapes and sizes around the globe be more successful at innovation [1]. The simple answer is for organizations to have a system--an innovation management system (IMS) with ongoing innovation management assessment (IMA). TC 279 is developing guiding principles, technical reports, and standards for these.

The hard part, sticky part, or just plain skipped part in innovation management is gaining and maintaining a customer perspective. Even when utilizing customer-centric methods such as customer journey and open innovation, organizational barriers get in the way of involving customers in innovation. It is as if they had an invisible innovation prevention department (IPD) [2].

This book provides a solution, at least in part, to the IPD. It outlines a new theoretical framework, jobs to be done (JTBD), or simply jobs theory, which shifts the focus in organizations to customers. In a nutshell, customers hire a product to get a job done. Christensen, a co-author, is one of the apostles of innovation, having already made a major contribution to field with his theory of disruptive innovation [3].

Competing against luck consists of ten chapters organized into three sections. Section 1 introduces jobs theory and describes the field research that led to its development. Section 2 discusses how to apply jobs theory, that is, to determine what jobs potential customers need done. Chapter 5 specifically addresses how to hear what customers don’t say. Section 3 concludes with guidance and examples for creating a JTBD organization (JTBDO). This is a good starting place for chief innovation officers tasked with building a more innovative organization.

This book is a valuable contribution to the growing body of practical information about innovation management in organizations. Burns and Stalker provide one of the first treatments on managing innovation [4]. Readers wanting to learn more about how to assess and measure innovation should see [5]. Those interested in practical tools for evolutionary and improvement tools for innovation are referred to [6].

Disclaimer: Harrington and Sten Jacobson, respective co-authors of two of the aforementioned resources, are members with me of ISO TC 279 Working Group 4 on innovation management assessment.

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