In politics, in business, and in life, I love the concept of 'job to be done'.
I heard about it first in a case study discussing a thick milkshake that McDonald's was selling. Many people bought it for their morning commute, but when the McDo decided to make it more skinny, sales dropped.
They started analyzing the reasons why customers bought it, and suprisingly, it had nothing to do with it being a 'breakfast drink': its 'job to be done' was to last long enough until commuters got to their workplace. When the milkshake was made skinnier, it no longer served that purpose.
How does this translate to other fields of life?
In the movie/theater/showbiz industry, casting for most supporting roles is not done on the basis of the best looking actor or actress: the job to be done is find a suitable character, ideally with great acting skills, who can authentically act the role.
In the medical sector, a doctor's kind personality is a great asset, but the (main) job to be done is to cure the patient as quickly as possible while minimizing side-effects.
A business hotel's job to be done is to offer an uneventful accommodation experience to relax. It is not meant to host a loud party on the ground floor that disturbs all other the guests.
In the training business, the job to be done is often not to train the staff but to tell them, as an external consultant, what the boss couldn’t get across.
In politics, we all want to have kind, empathetic, likeable people as leaders. At the same time, the job to be done may be to withstand pressure, push through unpopular but necessary measures, and deliver results (and still get re-elected).
The main question is often this: is it clear what the *actual* ‘job to be done’ is? And even if I don't like the service/company/person, are they the best suited to get the job done, and do it ethically?