Reading Outcome Orientation immediately brought to mind the Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) framework, particularly the job story format. For those unfamiliar, JTBD helps separate context from form—a concept borrowed from Christopher Alexander’s idea of form-context fit. In Alexander’s world, “form” might refer to how a building responds to its environment. For PMs and designers, it’s how software interfaces adapt to user needs. In the context of Cedric’s article, “form” is how we respond to the situations life presents.
Outcome orientation, to me, feels like the act of prioritizing and separating between emergent and long-running job stories for your own life. It helps identify the most important jobs you’re trying to get done, clarifying which deserve your focus. Life constantly presents us with new situations that motivate action in pursuit of certain outcomes.
If we’re not careful, we can fall into the trap of impulsive job stories. Take this one, for example, written in the form of a Job Story:
- When I’m bored, and have some time to read, and I pride myself as someone who keeps up with the latest AI trends,
- I want to learn about how people are using AI,
- So that I can feel like I’ve learned something new.
The natural response? Consuming AI-related content, whether it’s actually useful or not. But not just reading content, you can go to conferences, talking to people, watching videos. All of those are valid responses if we decide to prioritize the above job story.
Outcome orientation challenges us to pause and ask: Is this job story truly worth prioritizing? It’s less about reducing information intake and more about filtering it through the lens of what actually moves the needle for us. It’s a way to frame and prioritize your own JTBDs.