Session 5 “The Jobs to be Done Theory” – Jake Schroeder [DigCitSummit 2017]

How can a focus on the progress of those you serve change how you work?

Jake Schroeder shared this thought-changing theory developed by Clayton Christensen (Harvard Business School) and collaborators called “The Jobs to Be Done Theory.” This theory states that we hire things to do jobs for us. Such as, we hire a snickers candy bar to do a job for us. What is this job?

The question posed to participants at the Summit was: How can we use this theory to better understand Digital Citizenship and how to work with youth to better use technology for good?

To view the SNICKERS commercials he references please visit:

and for the 2nd commercial this:

Jake Schroeder

Jake is currently finishing up his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago. Before Kellogg, Jake worked directly with Professor Clayton Christensen at Harvard Business School where they launched HBS’ first-ever online education course, Disruptive Strategy. Since then, Jake has been working with Professor Christensen and Bob Moesta on new product offerings around the Jobs to be Done theory (JTBD). JTBD is a consumer insight theory that uncovers what causes people to do what they do. Their current work seeks to bridge the gap between understanding JTBD theory and actually using JTBD theory to develop rich consumer insights.

Jake completed a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the countries of Armenia and Georgia before graduating from Brigham Young University with a BA in Economics. After graduating with his MBA next June, Jake will become a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in their Dallas office. Jake grew up in Oregon and enjoys spending his time with his 5 children.