The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded

Watkins stresses the importance of new leaders taking on the responsibility for nurturing a strong relationship with their boss. He suggests that new leaders should “take 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work” (72). He refers to the case of Michael Chen, who was promoted to chief information officer at an oil company, to illustrate the benefits of building a productive working relationship with boss.

Watkins recommends that new leaders adapt to their boss's working style instead of expecting “the boss to change” (72). He goes on to outline a set of do's and don'ts for building a productive relationship with a new boss. For example, he advises, “don’t approach your boss only with problems” (71) and highlights the significance of presenting solutions or action plans alongside issues.

Moreover, Watkins suggests a comprehensive strategy for establishing a successful working relationship with a new boss, involving a series of five essential conversations. First, there's the “situational diagnosis conversation” (73), which focuses on understanding the organization's current status and the challenges it confronts. Next is the “expectations conversations” (74), in which the new leader discusses and negotiate short and medium-term expectations, success benchmarks, and how their performance will be assessed. The “resource negotiation conversation” revolves around securing vital resources for the new leader’s role (74), whether it's funding, personnel, or support for necessary changes. The “style conversation” addresses how a new leader and their boss can effectively communicate and collaborate (74), covering preferences, consultation boundaries, and decision-making styles.

Last is the “personal development conversation” (74). Watkins stresses the importance of engaging in a discussion with the new boss about a new leader’s performance, including what they’re doing well and where improvements are needed. This conversation, according to him, is critical during key career transitions, and the willingness to seek feedback and act on it conveys a powerful message.

Furthermore, Watkins emphasizes that personal development is not limited to hard skills. Instead, soft skills such as cultural and political diagnosis, negotiation, coalition building, and conflict management become increasingly important as leaders advance in their career. He highlights the value of developmental assignments, such as working in new parts of the organization or different functions, in honing these managerial skills.

Watkins then discusses the challenges of working with multiple bosses, advising that leaders need to carefully balance perceived wins and losses among them. If one boss holds more power, it may be necessary to align with their priorities initially, but leaders should work to restore the balance over time.

Finally, Watkins introduces the concept of a 90-day plan, which is a written document specifying priorities, goals, and milestones for a leader’s first three months in a new role. He suggests sharing this plan with the new boss, which will serve as a “contract” and outline how the leader will spend their time and what they will or will not do. The plan is broken down into three 30-day blocks, and each block concludes with a review meeting with the leader’s boss to evaluate progress and set goals for the next phase of the transition.

In this chapter, the focus shifts to securing early wins when transitioning into a new leadership role. Watkins presents Elena Lee's promotion to head of customer service at a major retailer as an example.

Watkins highlights the need for leaders to strategically plan their transitions by implementing changes in waves. This approach involves focusing on immediate priorities during the first wave such as securing early wins, which are designed to build personal credibility, establish essential relationships, and address low-hanging fruit for performance improvements. Securing early wins is essential in creating momentum, gaining credibility, and laying the foundation for deeper changes. These early victories should align with longer-term business objectives.

Watkins advises leaders to focus on a few high-impact opportunities rather than spreading themselves too thin. He recommends that new leaders understand the current organization's culture and focus on creating positive perceptions about themselves by being accessible, demanding but fair, decisive yet flexible, and results-oriented while demonstrating humane decision-making.

According to Watkins, in the first 30 days, leaders should work on building their personal credibility, signal a willingness to learn, and adjust for the culture of the organization. They must take teachable moments to display their leadership style and values. Afterward, leaders can launch early-win projects that address tangible performance improvements. He further suggests that new leaders identify a few key areas where rapid progress can be made while avoiding over-commitment.

Watkins also underscores the significance of early-win projects in modeling the desired behavior and introducing new cultural norms. The “FOGLAMP (an acronym for focus, oversight, goals, leadership, abilities, means, and process)” project checklist is introduced to guide the planning and execution of these early-win initiatives (102).

Furthermore, Watkins highlights the importance of matching the strategies for behavior change to the specific situation, noting that approaches will differ between turnaround and realignment scenarios. He stresses the value of collective learning in situations where awareness and buy-in are lacking. Moreover, he warns new leaders about the need to proactively identify potential problems to “avoid predictable surprises” (106). Predictable surprises occur when individuals possess all the essential information needed to identify and avert impending issues, yet they neglect to do so. As Watkins specifically mentions, “this often happens because the new leader simply doesn’t look in the right places or ask the right questions” (107); therefore, he suggests that new leaders should ask critical questions about the external environment, customers, internal capabilities, and organizational politics.

Watkins presents the case of Hannah Jaffey, a human resource consultant who was hired to help a company facing severe internal conflicts and operational challenges. The company had reorganized into business units, leading to customer confusion and internal strife. Hannah believed that the root cause of the problems lay in the organizational structure and incentives, not just in the people.

She tried to convince the CEO to implement a hybrid structure that combined elements of marketing and sales, focusing on customer segments with operations and R&D by product line. After some resistance, the CEO agreed to this structural change, and it led to significant improvements in customer satisfaction and financial performance.

Watkins asserts that as a new leader progresses within an organization, their role evolves into that of an “organizational architect” (110), where they design and align essential elements: strategic direction, structure, core processes, and skill bases for optimal performance.

He warns the new leaders against common transition traps like “making changes for change’s sake” or restructuring without addressing deeper issues or understanding organizational structure and processes (111). For example, he discusses how revamping an organization's structure when the actual problems exist in processes, skills, and culture is equal to “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” (111), a futile and irrelevant effort when the ship is sinking.

Furthermore, Watkins suggests that when contemplating changes in the organization's mission or strategy, new leaders must be considerate of the specific situation. Significant shifts in direction should typically be approached cautiously, with more minor adjustments made initially. For instance, a new leader might propose slight changes in revenue targets or suggest investing in necessary technology ahead of schedule.

Moving on, Watkins stresses the importance of evaluating the organization's structure. The structure encompasses how people and resources are organized to support the mission and strategy. It comprises elements like how teams are grouped, who holds decision-making authority, and the performance measurement and incentive systems in place. Watkins asserts that structural changes should only occur when absolutely needed, as it can affect the balance of power and may not be suitable for all situations. Watkins believes that continuous learning and adaptation while exploring the organization's capabilities and its adaptability to change will help new leaders to understand the possibilities for strategic shifts over time.

Lastly, Watkins emphasizes the significance of having the right skill base within the team, as he believes that making the most of underutilized resources can significantly enhance an organization's performance. He specifically suggests that leaders “identify underutilized resources, search for individuals or groups in your unit who have performed much better than average” (127).