In our world of work and business, competition is a real thing. Too often, however, we miss the real competitor. We overlook the root of what our products are really competing against. As Peter Drucker famously said: “The customer rarely buys what the company thinks it is selling him.”

Why do we miss the mark when it comes to competing in products and services? Why do the majority of innovations fall short of their desired objectives? Are you competing against luck? The problem is that we’re not asking the right questions. If you do not know how to ask the right questions, you discover nothing.

The better question to ask is “What job did you hire that product to do?” When we buy a product, we exxentially “hire” something to get a job done. If it does the job well, when we are confronted with the same job, we hire that same product again. When we realize we have a job to do, we reach out and pull something into our lives to get the job done.

Instead of relying on luck, you can actually predict how your product will do in the marketplace.

Why do customer buy? Why do they pull products into their lives? Easy: to resolve highly important, unsatisfied jobs (or needs) that arise. Customers ‘hire’ products or services to solve these jobs that need to be done. And jobs must be defined in the right context.

Circling back, a key is focusing on what your products really compete against. One example is Airbnb—that company is not just competing against hotels, it’s competing with staying with friends, or not making the trip at all.

Summing-up: If you build your foundation on the pursuit of understanding your customers’ jobs, your strategy will no longer need to rely on luck. You’ll see the world with new eyes. Different competitors, different priorities, and most important, different results.