See the Whole Picture with The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™

Why do people really buy what they buy?

It’s a question that has reshaped how we think about customers, markets, and innovation. Thanks to the foundational work of Clayton Christensen, Tony Ulwick, Bob Moesta, and Lance Bettencourt, Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) theory gave us a breakthrough insight:

“Customers don’t buy products—they hire them to get jobs done.”

This idea revolutionized product strategy. It helped innovators focus on

real goals instead of assumptions, and taught us to dig below the surface of features and functions to understand why customers make the decisions they do.

But over the years, many practitioners and teams have run into recurring obstacles—not because the theory is flawed, but because real-world human motivation is layered, emotional, and hard to pin down.

That’s what led to the creation of a new framework: The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™.

The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid: A New Book for Innovators Who Want to See More Clearly

The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™: An Innovation Architecture for Humans – Linking Function, Emotion, and Identity is a new book by Scott Burleson, now available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle, with an audiobook forthcoming.

The book introduces a practical, visual framework for understanding the full range of customer motivation—from functional tasks to aspirational identities to emotional states. It brings structure to complexity and makes deep insight usable. To learn more, visit www.TheJTBDPyramid.com

The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid Builds upon the Foundation of Jobs Theory, Addressing the Challenges

The JTBD Pyramid doesn’t replace classic JTBD theory—it builds on it, with deep respect for the foundational thinkers who gave us the lens in the first place. But it was designed to address five common challenges faced by real teams using JTBD in practice:

1. Emotional Jobs are too broad.

Classic JTBD theory rightly recognized that customers don’t just want to accomplish tasks—they want to feel something. But over time, emotional jobs became a vague, catch-all category, covering everything from momentary feelings to long-term identity and social perception.

This made emotional jobs hard to define, prioritize, or act on.

The JTBD Pyramid™ solves this by narrowing Emotional Jobs (Level 5) to focus specifically on momentary emotional states—like feeling confident, reassured, or in control during a specific interaction. Deeper identity and image-based motivations are elevated to their own levels (Levels 3 and 4), giving each motivational layer the clarity it deserves.

This structure brings sharper insight and more actionable direction for product, marketing, and experience design.

2. Jobs-to-be-Done is highly verbal, but not everyone is.

Classic JTBD frameworks rely heavily on precise language—carefully worded job statements, outcome phrasing, and abstract definitions. This works well for analytically minded teams, but it can alienate visual thinkers, creatives, or executives who need to see the big picture.

Without a visual model, JTBD insights often stay stuck in documents and never shape decisions.

The JTBD Pyramid™ solves this by offering a clear, visual hierarchy of motivation. Teams can map jobs across five levels—from product interaction to emotional resonance—and quickly see how they relate. It turns customer insight into a tool that cross-functional teams can use, together, in real time.

3. Confusion between Core and Consumption Jobs.

One of the most common pain points in JTBD practice is the blurry line between “core jobs” and what some frameworks call “consumption jobs”—the tasks customers do in order to access, use, or maintain a product. Is “set up the device” a core job? What about “update the software” or “clean the equipment”? These are clearly important, but they aren’t the customer’s fundamental goal.

Without a clear distinction, teams often mix tactical and strategic jobs—leading to unclear priorities.

The JTBD Pyramid™ clears up this confusion by formally separating Product Jobs (Level 1) from Core Jobs (Level 2). Product Jobs include all the logistical tasks customers perform in relation to the solution itself—like acquiring, preparing, using, maintaining, and disposing of a product. Core Jobs, by contrast, reflect the underlying goal the customer is trying to achieve, regardless of the solution.

This distinction helps teams better prioritize, assign ownership, and design more seamless experiences. It also prevents common mistakes—like overinvesting in ease-of-use features when the core problem remains unsolved.

4. Not enough structure within each job type.

Classic JTBD teaches us to look for jobs—but it doesn’t always provide a way to organize them. Once teams collect job statements, they often end up with long, flat lists that lack structure. Are some jobs more strategic than others? Which ones are emotional vs. functional? Which should be prioritized for innovation?

Without subcategories, teams struggle to make sense of what they’ve found—or to turn insight into action.

The JTBD Pyramid™ introduces clear, named categories within each level. Product Jobs, for instance, are broken down into Acquisition, Preparation, Usage, Maintenance, and Disposal. Core Jobs are grouped by type—Process, Control, Efficiency, and Problem-Solving. Identity and Emotional Jobs also follow a structured taxonomy.

This added layer of organization makes job discovery, analysis, and communication dramatically easier. It brings precision to research and helps teams align around the types of jobs that matter most for product, marketing, or customer success.

5. No model to see the whole market at once.

One of the biggest limitations in classic JTBD practice is the lack of a unified view. Teams might collect functional jobs, brainstorm emotional drivers, or touch on identity—but there’s no shared structure that brings it all together. Insights live in silos, and it’s hard to step back and see how everything connects.

Without a full map, teams miss patterns, duplicate effort, or overlook high-leverage opportunities.

The JTBD Pyramid™ fills this gap by offering a complete, visual model of customer motivation—across five distinct levels. It lets teams map a market in a structured way, from low-level product interactions to high-level emotional and identity-based desires.

This enables smarter prioritization, clearer segmentation, and more strategic alignment. With the Pyramid, you don’t just gather jobs—you finally see how the entire motivational landscape fits together.

The Five Levels of The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™

Here’s how the five levels of the Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid break down:

Level 1: Product Jobs

Level 1: Product Jobs are the logistical tasks customers perform throughout a product’s lifecycle—before, during, and after use. These include acquiring, preparing, using, maintaining, and disposing of the product. Though often overlooked, they shape the day-to-day experience and directly impact satisfaction, loyalty, and usability.

These have historically been called “Consumption Jobs” by knowledgeable JTBD practitioners. However, the term has never been well-understood by leaders and innovation executors.

Level 2: Core Jobs

These are the solution-agnostic goals customers are trying to accomplish, regardless of any specific product. These include tasks like solving a problem, completing a process, controlling a system, or improving efficiency. Core Jobs reveal the why behind a purchase—the fundamental outcome the customer seeks. Understanding these jobs is essential for defining the market, identifying competitors, and driving meaningful innovation.

Level 3: Role Identity Jobs

Level 3: Role Identity Jobs reflect the aspirational roles customers are trying to live into through action—such as being a creator, protector, leader, or survivor. These jobs go beyond goals; they express who the customer wants to become. Role Identity Jobs help reveal the deeper meaning behind behavior and allow teams to build products that support not just outcomes, but identity.

Level 4: Image Identity Jobs

Level 4: Image Identity Jobs capture how customers want to be perceived—by themselves and by others. These jobs center on reputation and self-image, such as being seen as competent, stylish, or intelligent. They influence choices subtly but powerfully, shaping everything from brand preference to social behavior. Understanding these jobs enables teams to design products and messaging that resonate on a personal and cultural level.

Level 5: Emotional Jobs

Level 5: Emotional Jobs are the moment-by-moment feelings customers seek during interaction—such as feeling calm, reassured, confident, or delighted. Unlike earlier JTBD frameworks, the Pyramid defines Emotional Jobs more precisely, separating them from identity-driven motivations. These fleeting emotions often tip the balance in decisions and are essential for creating trust, satisfaction, and emotional resonance.

Tools to Go from Insight to Action

The book is more than a theory. It includes a complete practitioner toolkit:

✅ JTBD Pyramid™ Navigator – a one-page reference that summarizes all five levels and job types for a market

📘 JTBD Pyramid™ Strategic Analysis – a step-by-step template for mapping motivation across a market

🔍 Strategic Innovation Profiles – five strategic archetypes to guide product, marketing, and growth decisions

Whether you’re working in product, marketing, research, or sales, the JTBD Pyramid will help you connect the dots between what people want to accomplish and who they want to become.

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The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid Fulfills the Promise for Innovators and Marketers

The Jobs-to-be-Done Pyramid™: An Innovation Architecture for Humans – Linking Function, Emotion, and Identity is available now in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle on Amazon.  Click here to purchase. The audiobook edition is coming soon.

To learn more about this model, including information about access to a complete Practitioner’s Toolkit, visit www.TheJTBDPyramid.com