What Job Did You Hire That Milkshake For?

What job do people hire you to do for them?

In his book, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" Clayton Christensen shares a great story of how his team did a research study for a fast-food company.

The fast-food company discovered their best-selling product in the morning was a milkshake — yes, a milkshake in the morning. The company wanted to survey its customers so they could make the milkshake even better.

They spent years messing with the flavor and the thickness to make it even better and got nothing for all their time and effort. It didn't change sales a bit.

So the fast-food company hired Clayton to get some better answers. (Because, if you want better answers, you need to ask better questions.)

Customers were asked a simple, but better question:

What job did you hire that milkshake for?

Clayton explained... the customers were paying for the milkshake to do a job.

Sure, the customers could have “hired” a banana, a breakfast sandwich, a protein bar, bagel, smoothie, coffee, or even a donut, to “do the job”... So why were they hiring a milkshake at 9 in the morning?

It turns out to be surprisingly simple, why. Their customers were looking to fill their stomachs until lunchtime AND to keep them busy during their morning commute of 30-45 minutes (and here comes the most important part to a commuter)... all without messing up their hands or car.

Thicker than juice, the milkshake lasted longer... it filled them up more than a banana... let's face it, have you ever eaten a banana and thought, wow that was filling? And have you tried to spread cream cheese on bagel while sitting in rush hour traffic? Lastly, it didn’t leave them with sticky fingers like a donut.

That’s why customers hired the milkshake to do the job!

So… what job do people hire you to do for them?