Understand the Job to Be Done

Madhavan Ramanujam asks: What job is your kid hiring a tantrum to do? It's not random. Your toddler isn't having an emotional breakdown—they're executing a business plan. They're the startup founder, the tantrum is the product.

Maybe they're hiring the tantrum to: Express something they literally don't have words for yet. Regain control when the world just put them in their car seat like a tiny prisoner. Tell you they're starving or tired but in the most ear-destroying way possible instead of just saying "snack".

So you can offer better solutions. They need to feel heard? Put down your phone. They need power? Let them choose between two shirts instead of debating every morning why their clothes are "wrong." They need connection? Play before the meltdown, not after.

The tantrum is just the only tool they have. Your job is understanding what job's getting done, then giving them a better tool before the 4 AM floor-demolition project kicks off.

Understanding the job, not fighting the behavior—that's the move.