Competing Against Luck
by Clayton M. Christensen · first published 2016
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Introduces the jobs-to-be-done framework, asking what job a customer hires a product to do, with the milkshake case study as a memorable example. Suits product builders, founders, and anyone doing customer discovery.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Presents guidelines to help companies develop products and services customers will buy for premium prices, outlining a revolutionary approach based on a theory that companies are actually "hired" by their customers to perform specific jobs.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2020–2024Demand-Side Sales 101
Bob Moesta, Greg Engle
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 66 recommend · 6 mention6 recommend · 66 recommend
2019–2026The Great Mental Models
Farnam Street, Shane Parrish, Rhiannon Beaubien
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 115 recommend · 11 mention5 recommend · 115 recommend
2013–2026The mom test
Rob Fitzpatrick
Recommended by 207 · mentioned by 255207 recommend · 255 mention207 recommend · 255207 recommend
2019–2025Super Thinking
Gabriel Weinberg, Lauren McCann
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 208 recommend · 20 mention8 recommend · 208 recommend
2017–2026Monetizing innovation
Madhavan Ramanujam
Recommended by 16 · mentioned by 1916 recommend · 19 mention16 recommend · 1916 recommend
2010–2026How will you measure your life?
Clayton M. Christensen
Recommended by 29 · mentioned by 3829 recommend · 38 mention29 recommend · 3829 recommend
2012–2025Predictable Revenue
Aaron Ross
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 2923 recommend · 29 mention23 recommend · 2923 recommend
2013–2025The challenger sale
Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 2820 recommend · 28 mention20 recommend · 2820 recommend
There is a pretty good book that addresses some of the business aspects of this... "Competing Against Luck" by David Duncan and Clayton Christiansen (the same guy who wrote "The Innovator's Dilemma"). I'm not done with it yet but so far it goes into some interesting detail about how to reframe everything…
on “Don’t Tell Your Friends They’re Lucky” ↗Competing Against Luck (Christensen) - models on how to think about innovation, and the "jobs to be done" theory (what job is the customer hiring my product/service for) Such a small shift in perspective, but it makes such…
on “Ask HN: Which books teach mental models?” ↗…maintain feature parity nevermind compete on quality. To compete or gain a market doesn't mean you need to have all the features. Doing things differently can and does work. The more I read books like Competing Against Luck and The Design Of Everyday Things the more I'm able to see it and even work on projects that do that. > the second your browser stops working with Amazon or Ebay or whatever else your browser is finished…
on “Now DuckDuckGo is building its own desktop browser” ↗I'm currently reading Competing Against Luck and it is a truly eye-opening book that highlights and puts the finger on a lot of the luck-based innovation work we've been doing over the years. I was planning on taking MR Christensen's online class[1]…
on “Clayton Christensen has died” ↗The best book on this subject is Clayton Christensen's "Competing Against Luck", where he details the 'jobs to be done' paradigm. It's a great book which contains his usual combination of empathy and insight, and I recommend it to all.
on “A ‘Jobs to be Done’ Framework for Startups” ↗So I can kind of see what you are trying to get at with your product. There are 3 books I recommend you read to help you further: 1. "Competing Against Luck" by Clay Christensen https://www.amazon.com/Competing-Against-Luck-Innovation-Cus... This book will teach you how to look at the market from a jobs-to-be-done perspective. People don't want products,…
on “Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?” ↗Not for everyone, but some people would probably benefit from reading Clayton Christensen's books such as The Innovator's Dilemma, Competing Against Luck and How Will You Measure Your Life? His explanation of Correlation vs Causation while likely obvious to some was eye-opening for me as well as his idea of looking at products from what Job they fulfill…
on “Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?” ↗“Chapter 1: The Milkshake Dilemma” from “Competing Against Luck” (Christensen 2016) cited in the article is one of my favorite nonfiction book chapters of all time. The milkshake case study perfectly illustrates the jobs-to-be-done concept that the vertical axis of…
on “Asking your customers what they want doesn't work” ↗…reading list. Hope this helps. 1. The Mom test - Rob Fitzpatrick 2. Never eat alone - Keith Ferrazzi 3. The Tim Ferriss podcast - Episode #717 with Noah Kagan 4. Crossing the chasm - Geoffrey Moore 5. Competing Against Luck - Clayton M. Christensen
on “Ask HN: I am the software guy and marketing is hell for me” ↗^ this guy knows Jobs To Be Done theory ;) For those who don't, reading "Competing Against Luck" by Clayton Christensen will dramatically improve your ability to create successful products/services.
on “But what if I want a faster horse?” ↗Competing against luck by Clayton Christensen, how brands grow by Byron Sharp
on “Ask HN: How to learn marketing and sales as a solo entrepreneur?” ↗Two books that can help understand it in more detail: . The Mom Test - good and bad questions for customer discovery . Competing Against Luck - introduces the concept of "jobs to be done" - people are hiring your product for a specific job they need to get done
on “Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers” ↗I'm a huge fan of the interview process Ash Maurya recommends in Running Lean. I'd add to that the understanding Jobs to Be done (Read: Competing Against Luck by Christiansen) for an interview process that really get's to the base progress a user/client is trying to make in a given circumstance.
on “Ask HN: What methods, tools etc. do you use to validate your business ideas?” ↗Innovator's Dilemma and Competing Against Luck are the two best business books that any tech person should read. I have my students and product design team read them.
on “Clayton Christensen has died” ↗…do enterprise sales) is a great way to validate a problem, and only then worry about scaling or getting them to try. Books that might be helpful: [1] "The Mom Test", for interviewing users, and [2] "Competing Against Luck", which introduces 'jobs to be done' and talks about how your biggest competition isn't another product, but users deciding to do NOTHING.
on “Ask HN: How do you get people to try out your product?” ↗