First 90 Days

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■ Learn...how you can succeed in anynew leadership role by fol-lowing 10 steps to make apositive impact on yourorganization in your firstthree months on the job.

■ Discover...how you can slash the timeit takes you to reach thebreak-even point: the pointat which your companyneeds you as much as youneed it.

■ Understand...how to achieve your goalswhether you are launching astart-up, leading a turn-around, orchestrating arealignment, or sustaining ahigh-performing unit.

■ Develop...the skills you need to pro-mote yourself, accelerate yourlearning, match the strategyto the situation, secure earlywins, and exceed everyone’sexpectations.

■ Transform...your business by achievingalignment, building aneffective team, creatingcoalitions, keeping your bal-ance, and helping othersreach the break-even point.

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The First 90 DaysCritical Success Strategies for

New Leaders at All Levelsby Michael Watkins

A summary of the original text.

Each year, more than halfa million managers enter

new positions in Fortune500 companies alone. That’sabout one in every fourmanagers in the averagecompany — or, looked atanother way, it means theaverage manager changesjobs every four years.

If you’re in a new leadershipposition in business, you’reallowed 90 days to proveyourself. The actions youtake during your first threemonths in a new job willlargely determine whetheryou will succeed or fail inthe long term.

Transitions are periods ofopportunity, a chance for afresh start for yourself andyour organization. But theyare also periods of acute vulnerability, because youlack established workingrelationships and a detailedunderstanding of your newrole. If you fail to buildmomentum during your

transition, you will face anuphill battle from that pointforward.

Your goal should be toarrive as quickly as possibleto the break-even point, atwhich you have contributedas much value to the busi-ness as you have consumedfrom it. When 210 CEOswere asked how long ittakes a mid-level managerto reach the break-evenpoint, their answer was sixmonths. Using the 10-pointplan we will discuss, thattime can be cut substantially.

The faster you reach thebreak-even point (as illus-trated on page 2), the sooneryou can concentrate on fix-ing problems, exploitingopportunities, and buildingthe business.

Here are the 10 key stepsyou can take to movethrough your job transitionsmoothly:

Volume 13, No. 3 (2 sections). Section 1, March 2004.© 2004 Audio-Tech Business Book Summaries 13-5.No part of this publication may be used or reproducedin any manner whatsoever without written permission.

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1. Promote yourself.

2. Accelerate your learning.

3. Match the strategy to thesituation.

4. Secure early wins.

5. Negotiate success.

6. Achieve alignment.

7. Build your team.

8. Create coalitions.

9. Keep your balance.

10. Expedite everyone.

For the rest of this summary,we'll focus on each of these10 steps.

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1. PROMOTE YOURSELF

If you think you can't fail intransition, consider the caseof Douglas Ivester, once theCEO of Coca-Cola. Anaccountant by training, hehad spent nearly 20 yearsrising through the ranks ofCoca-Cola. In 1985, he wasnamed CFO at the age of 37.He was the right-hand man

to legendary CEO RobertGoizueta.

Ivester orchestrated thehighly-successful spin-off ofthe bottling operations in1986. He also oversaw theexpansion into EasternEurope in 1989. Ivester wasa rising star, and wasrewarded accordingly, becom-ing president and COO of thecompany in 1994. WhenGoizueta died suddenly,Ivester was the obviouschoice to succeed him asCEO. And he failed.

How could such an obviouslytalented man with such agreat track record fail?

He had been a "numbersguy," detail-oriented, andwas known as a "super-COO." But when he becameCEO, he could not let go ofthat job and in fact, refusedto name a new COO. Hecould not let go of his atten-tion to detail in favor of thebig strategic picture requiredby the new job. He beganalienating everyone he camein contact with. He lost animportant acquisition inFrance, failed to take chargewhen Coke was contaminat-ed at a bottling plant in

Belgium, and fumbled indealing with a racial discrim-ination suit at headquartersin Atlanta.

Seeing the big picture, anddealing with key externalconstituencies, were not hiscore competencies, and heshied away from these criti-cal tasks. The key to his failure was that he had notmentally prepared himselffor the transition from COOto CEO.

To avoid that fate, it is essen-tial to establish a clearbreakpoint. Consciouslythink of letting the old job goand embracing the new one.Think hard about the differ-ences and requirements ofthe two. Seek advice frompeople who might help you inunderstanding the new job.

When you move into the newposition, you have to hit theground running. One usefulexercise is to start planningmilestones you wish to hit atspecific times — rememberthat you have only 90 days toprove yourself. For example,set specific goals for the veryfirst day on the job. Whatwould you like to have donethat first day?

Then move to the first week,the first month, and so on.Even if the plan is sketchy in its details, it will help, and you can revise it as you go along and gain moreexperience.

Even as you're planning yourmilestones, assess your vul-nerabilities. One of the waysto do that is to ask yourselfwhat kinds of problems youlike solving most. That wasIvester's problem at Coke:He chose to focus on problemsthat he was comfortable

2 A U D I O - T E C H

THE BREAK-EVEN POINT

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solving, and he paid too littleattention to the rest. Youhave no doubt perfectedskills at solving certain kindsof problems, and those areprobably the ones you likemost. But that could leaveyou vulnerable if those aren'tthe requirements of the newjob.

Most problems will fall intoone of three categories:

1. Technical problemsinvolve strategy, mar-kets, technologies, andprocesses.

2. Political problems con-cern power and politicsin the organization.

3. Cultural problemsinvolve values, norms,and guiding assumptions.

For example, ask yourself ifyou deal best with customerrelationships, budgeting,cost-cutting, product posi-tioning, or cross-functionalcooperation. Look carefullyat what the new job entails,and see how your problempreferences fit or fail to fit.Where there are gaps, pre-pare to do the tough work tobring yourself up to speed onthose areas. It's going totake discipline.

The main tools for dealingwith your vulnerabilities areself-discipline, team building,and advice and counsel. Youwill need to do the jobs youdon't enjoy as much. Youwill have to consciouslyrestructure your team, bring-ing in those people who cancompensate for your weak-nesses and letting go of someothers, perhaps people you'refond of working with. Andyou will have to create a net-work of advisors who can tell

you the truth.

You'll need to negotiate clearexpectations with your oldboss as you make the some-times-messy transition fromone job to another. Both ofyou have to know not onlywhat will be done but —equally important — whatwill not be done.

Don't get caught like Ivester,trying to do two jobs at once.One of the keys to success intransition is learning how tolearn again. It may havebeen some time since youhad to re-learn your job, andit may be uncomfortable.Let's take a look at theprocess.

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2. ACCELERATE YOURLEARNING

When a new leader derails,failure to learn is almostalways a factor. There issuch a torrent of informationat first that it can be difficultto know where to focus. Youmay focus on technology, forexample, and forget to learnabout the culture and politicsof the new position.

Another problem is the failure to plan to learn.Planning to learn means fig-uring out in advance whatthe important questions areand how you can best answerthem. Few new leaders takethe time to think systemati-cally about their learningpriorities. Fewer still explic-itly create a learning planwhen entering a new role.

Some leaders even have"learning disabilities," orcrippling internal blocks tolearning.

One learning disability is the failure to even try tounderstand the history of theorganization. Every leadershould start by asking, "Howdid we get to this point?"Otherwise, you risk tearingdown fences without knowingwhy they were put up. Onceyou know the history, youmay find you can get rid ofthe fence — or that there is agood reason to leave it whereit is.

Other new leaders sufferfrom a near-compulsive needto take immediate action.Listening and observingshould always be the firstactions you take. Worse thanthat are leaders who arrivewith the solution already inmind, before they've evenstudied the problem. Whatworks in one organizationalculture may fail miserably inanother.

If you approach your effortsto get up to speed as aninvestment process, you willrealize returns in the form ofactionable insights. Anactionable insight is knowl-edge that enables you tomake better decisions sooner,and to reach the break-evenpoint faster.

To gain actionable insights,you need to talk to externalsources of information,including customers, distrib-utors, suppliers, and outsideanalysts. You should also getinformation from internalsources, such as people insales, purchasing, R&D,finance, human resources,and so on.

Other people who can pro-vide useful insights are historians — that is, peoplewho have been with the company a long time and

B U S I N E S S B O O K S U M M A R I E S 3

know the roots of its culture— as well as integrators,such as project managersand product managers, whocoordinate cross-functionalinteraction; these people canhelp you to identify the truehierarchies and tell youwhere the internal conflictslie.

The questions you need toask these sources are basedon your learning agenda.Your learning agenda is afocused set of questions youwill use to help you get theanswers you need the most.To create a learning agenda,list the most important ques-tions you need to answerabout the past, the present,and the future.

Under the subject of thepast, ask about performance,root causes, and history:

• What has the past performance been?

• How were goals set?Were they too big or toosmall?

• Were benchmarks used?

• What measures wereemployed, and whatbehaviors did theyencourage and discourage?

• What happened if goalswere not met?

• What efforts have beenmade to change the organization? What happened?

• Who has been instru-mental in shaping thisorganization?

Next, assess the present:

• What is the stated visionand strategy?

• Is the organization reallypursuing that strategy?If not, why not?

• Among the company’speople, who is capableand who is not?

• What are the keyprocesses, and are theyperforming acceptably?If not, why not?

• What cultural or politicalmissteps must you avoidmaking?

• In what areas — people,relationships, processes,or products — can youachieve some early wins?

Finally, examine the future:

• In what areas is thebusiness most likely toface stiff challenges inthe coming year?

• What are the mostpromising opportunities?

• What are the biggestbarriers to change?

• Are there islands ofexcellence that you canleverage?

• What new capabilitieswill you need to developor acquire?

• Which elements of theculture should be pre-served, and which needto be changed?

Using a structured learningprocess can make much bet-ter use of your time andaccelerate your transition.Meet with your direct reportsone by one, and ask them

these five questions:

1. What are the biggestchallenges the companyis facing now and willface in the near future?

2. Why is the organizationfacing or going to facethese challenges?

3. What are the mostpromising opportunitiesfor growth?

4. What would need to happen for the companyto exploit them?

5. If you were me, whatwould you focus attentionon?

This will allow you to findout if there is consensusabout these matters and alsogive you a reading on yourdirect reports. Are there fin-ger-pointers in the group?Do people answer honestly orevasively? Who has the bigpicture?

As you go through the learning process, you willrepeatedly collect informa-tion, analyze and distill it,develop hypotheses, and testthem, progressively deepen-ing your understanding ofthe organization. Only thencan you begin the process ofdiagnosing the business situ-ation, a vital step in movingtoward meaningful action.

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3. MATCH THE STRATEGYTO THE SITUATION

There are four types of busi-ness situations that newleaders must contend with:

1. Start-up

A U D I O - T E C H4

2. Turnaround

3. Realignment

4. Sustaining success

We will refer to this frame-work of transition types asthe STARS Model. Knowingwhich situation you face willhelp crystallize your strategyfor action.

In a start-up, you will haveto put together the people,funding, and technology toget a new business, product,or project off the ground. Ina turnaround, you have totake a troubled unit by thehorns and get it back ontrack. Both involve resource-intensive construction workrather than using existinginfrastructure or capacity.On the plus side, you are get-ting a fresh start. On thenegative side, you'll have tomake some tough calls earlyon.

In a realignment, you aretaking charge of a unit thatis drifting into trouble andneeds revitalization. In asustaining success situation,you will need to preserve thevitality of a successful orga-nization and shepherd it tothe next level. In these twosituations, you will havesome time before having tomake the big decisions,which allows you more timeto learn. On the downside, itwill be harder to gauge yourprogress.

Obviously, a start-up, turn-around, or realignment thatsucceeds becomes a sustain-ing success situation. Aturnaround or start-up thatfails gets shut down. But arealignment that fails canbecome a turnaround with a chance for sustaining

success. One of the keys tomoving toward sustainingsuccess in any of these casesit to address the psychologyof the organization.

• In a start-up, people aregoing to be excited butmay lack direction. Yourjob will be to channeltheir energy in productivedirections.

• In turnarounds, peoplewill be demoralized.Your job is to provide thelight at the end of thetunnel.

• In realignments, you will have to overcomepeople's denial beforehelping them reinventthe business.

• In a sustaining successsituation, you'll have tocombat complacency andfind new challenges tomaintain growth.

You'll have to allocate yourresources differently depend-ing on the type of STARS situation you're in. Forexample, how much timeshould you devote to learningas opposed to making deci-sions, initiating changes, or

recruiting new people?

In turnarounds and start-ups, the emphasis is on taking action. You'll have tomake decisions early andoften without complete infor-mation. Learning is stillrequired, but it's going to be mostly technical at first.Fortunately, that's the easiest kind of learning.

In sustaining success situa-tions and realignments, theemphasis is on learning,because you're dealing withpeople who are successful inthe first case, and in the sec-ond case, you're dealing withpeople who think they are.Early mistakes will be costly.Fortunately, you have moretime to learn. Delve deeplyinto organizational cultureand politics.

In a realignment or a sus-taining success, it is moreimportant than ever tosecure those all-importantearly wins. Let's discuss howto do that in more detail.

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4. SECURE EARLY WINS

What can you hope to B U S I N E S S B O O K S U M M A R I E S 5

THE STARS MODEL

accomplish in 90 days? Bythe end of your transition,you want your boss, yourpeers, and your subordinatesto feel that something new,something good, is happen-ing. Doing this requiresavoiding the five most common traps in transition.

• The first trap is the fail-ure to focus. During thetransition, things can getconfusing fast. You can'thope to achieve results inmore than a couple ofareas at the start.Identify the best oppor-tunities and focus relent-lessly on translatingthem into early wins.

• The second trap is nottaking the business sit-uation into account.What can be a win in oneSTARS situation will be aloss in another. Simplygetting people to talkabout change can be abig win in a realignmentbut a loss in a turn-around, where action is required. Think tacti-cally about what will berequired.

• The third trap is notadjusting to the cul-ture. If you're coming infrom outside, this is agreat risk. Beware yourpreconceptions of whatconstitutes a win. Insome cultures, the indi-vidual pursuit of glory isfrowned upon. In others,it's admired. Should youlead a team to success, ordo it on your own? Onlya correct reading of theculture can tell you.

• The fourth trap is fail-ing to get wins thatmatter to your boss.Even if you do not fully

agree with your boss'spriorities, you have totake them into accountin planning your wins. Ifyou fix an importantproblem for your boss, itis a huge win.

• The fifth and final trap isletting your meansundermine your ends.You can't use means that are manipulative,underhanded, or incon-sistent with the culture,no matter how big thewin might be in the end.Align your wins withbehavior you hope toinstill in your new organization.

Early wins are the buildingblocks of your credibility, andshould lay the foundation foryour long-term goals in thecompany. Remember, thetransition is 90 days, but youwill be in that job two ormore years. Your early winswill set the tone for thoseyears and dictate to someextent what you're able toaccomplish.

There are two broad areasyou want to influence: Youwant to move toward imple-menting your A-item business priorities, and youwant to introduce the newpattern of behavior foryour organization. Keepthree principles in mind asyou establish your A-itempriorities.

1. A-item priorities shouldfollow naturally fromcore problems.

2. They should be neithertoo general nor too specific.

3. They should offer cleardirection, yet allow for

flexibility while youlearn more about yoursituation.

The second half of the equa-tion, changing people'sbehavior, is just as importantas achieving those A-itempriorities. Develop a clearvision of how you would likepeople to behave by the endof your tenure, and plan howyour early wins will advancethat process of change.

This will have two phases:building your credibility in the first 30 days, andbeginning to achieve earlyperformance improvementsin the remaining 60 days.

Your earliest actions willhave the greatest impact.Think hard about what mes-sage you want them to send.Identify your key audiencesfor those messages, such asyour boss, your directreports, your peers, and out-side constituencies, such ascustomers and suppliers.Focus on who you are andwhat your values are. Hereare some questions peoplewill be asking about youwhen you first arrive:

• Do you have the insightand steadiness to maketough decisions?

• Do you have values thatthey relate to, admire,and want to emulate?

• Do you have the rightkind of energy?

• Do you demand high lev-els of performance fromyourself and others?

In shaping how people aregoing to answer those ques-tions, consider the following:New leaders are perceived as


more credible when they are:

• Demanding, but able tobe satisfied.

• Accessible, but not toofamiliar.

• Decisive, but judicious.

• Focused, but flexible.

• Active, without causingcommotion.

• Willing to make toughcalls, but humane.

With this in mind, you canthen set your strategy forspecific initiatives.Remember to keep your long-term goals in mind whileidentifying a few promisingareas where improvementcan be made quickly. Masterthose areas and then launcha pilot project to test yourhypothesis. Identify peopleat all levels who have theinsight, drive, and incentivesto advance your agenda andpromote them. Then rewardthem for success.

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5. NEGOTIATE SUCCESS

One of the most importantelements of your success intransition is your boss. Thetime you invest in this criti-cal relationship is well worthit. Your boss sets yourbenchmarks, interprets youractions for others, and con-trols access to resources. Heor she is the gatekeeper ofthe break-even point.

The best strategy is to negotiate some realisticexpectations up front, reacha consensus, and secureenough resources to succeed.To do that requires having a

90-day plan.

This can be done throughfive conversations, which youwill plan and execute. Theywill cover:

1. The business situation.

2. Expectations on bothsides.

3. Style of interaction.

4. Resources you'll needcompared with what isavailable.

5. Your personal development on the job.

Let's take them one at atime.

The first conversation isabout reaching a sharedunderstanding of the busi-ness situation. This will helpdefine which of the STARSmodels you'll use to designyour overall plan. Once youhave defined which situationyou're in, you'll need todefine your boss's role inhelping you achieve results.

For example, you may needhelp in getting resources in astart-up or turnaround, orhelp in making the case forchange in a realignment.This conversation will lay thegroundwork for everythingyou do in those crucial 90days.

The second conversation isabout expectations — yoursand your boss's. This iswhere you set short- andmedium-term goals anddefine what success is goingto look like. You'll decide ona timeframe for milestonesand look to the future beyondthose targets.

Out of this conversation,you'll be able to figure outsome early wins that willalign with your boss's priori-ties. That will secure youthe help you need to go tothe next level.

Once you move into action,always promise slightly lessthan you deliver. No one willcomplain if you delight themwith surprise bonuses. Butpromising what you can'tdeliver hurts credibility.

Go back frequently to con-firm that you're on the samepage with your boss. Ask thesame question in differentways to gain insight. Readbetween the lines. Put your-self in your boss's shoes.Don't let key issues remainambiguous.

Once you have negotiatedexpectations, you are readyfor the style conversation.This will determine how youand your boss can best worktogether. The first step is todiagnose his style.

For example, does your bossprefer voice mail or e-mail?If you have to leave animportant message, that's a key piece of information.Does he prefer talking face-to-face, or exchangingwritten messages?

What kinds of decisions doeshe want to be involved with,and what kind will justannoy him to know about?Does he arrive early andwork late? Compare andcontrast your two styles andsee where they mesh orclash. Talk to others.

In the end, remember thatit's your responsibility tobuild a good relationshipwith your boss and not the


other way around. You aregoing to have to adapt to hisstyle. If he doesn't like voicemail, don't use it. If he wantsall the details of every deci-sion, deliver them. When indoubt, ask. And if seriousissues of style come up,address them directly andhonestly.

Once you've laid this ground-work, confront the issue ofresources. This will differmarkedly depending on whichsituation you are in. In astart-up, you need money andtechnical support, along withpeople to do the job right. Ina turnaround, you needauthority backed by politicalsupport. In a realignment,you need public backing toconfront the need for change.And in a sustaining successsituation, you need financialand technical resources toexploit new opportunities.

When you set your resourcegoals, plan ahead. It's notgood to keep going back formore. Get what you needupfront for agreed-upongoals. If the boss wants 10percent growth, figure outwhat it will take to get it andask for all of the resourcesyou'll need to do the job.Always link resources toclearly defined results.

The last conversation will beabout your personal develop-ment. Are there new skillsyou need to develop in orderto advance? Are there spe-cial projects that could helpbuild those skills? Ask yourboss for feedback on develop-ing your skills. The higheryou rise, the more you mustshift away from technicalskills and toward the "soft"skills, such as cultural andpolitical diagnosis.

Going through those conver-sations will help you todevelop a 90-day plan. Onceyour boss has bought intothat plan, it is your ticket tosuccess in transition. If youplan to use the first 30 daysfor learning and buildingpersonal credibility, makesure it's negotiated with yourboss up front, and don't allowyourself to be derailed withunexpected projects.

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6. ACHIEVE ALIGNMENT

The higher you climb in acompany, the more you takeon the role of organizationalarchitect. If the company’sstrategy, structure, systems,and skills aren't aligned,your job will be far more difficult.

Your 90-day plan shouldinclude an assessment ofalignment and how toimprove it. You can even getstarted on fixing the worstmisalignments in the firstthree months. Misalignmentis such an insidious problemthat fixing it could even takeyou to the break-even point.

To move toward alignment,start with your businessstrategy. Ask how your teamis positioned with respect tothe larger organizationalgoals. Make sure the strate-gy is well thought out andlogically integrated.

Next, examine whether yourgroup's structure, systems,and skills can support thechanges in strategy that youenvision. If they can't do thejob, alter the strategy andbuild the capabilities thatare needed.

Next, chart a path for shifting

the strategy, includingchanges in positioning andsupporting capabilities.Work out a realistic time-frame for those changes.Remember, you'll have toreshape structure, systems,and skills at the same time.

A key element in assessingalignment is looking at howyour group's strategy is actually being implemented.Look at what people aredoing, not what they're saying.

For example, if the strategycalls for new skills, is atraining program in place todevelop them? If it requirescross-functional teams, arethose people actually work-ing together? From this sort of probing, you can see if the problem lies in thestrategy itself or in its implementation.

In order to make a completediagnosis before takingaction, you have to do sostep-by-step, starting withthe strategy, then moving tothe supporting structure,systems, and skills and figur-ing out how you will adapteach to fit the strategy. Thenchart a path for shifting thestrategy if necessary.

While looking at the strategy,ask which customers youwant to serve, which marketsyou'll exit, and which newones you'll enter. Develop atime-line.

Ask which of your businessesneed more investment andwhich can provide capital.Will even more additionalcapital be required? Wherewill you get it?

Ask what your organizationalcapabilities are, and what


new ones you need to devel-op. Will you need to createor acquire others?

And last, assess what criticalresource commitments you'llhave to make. Use theSWOT method, analyzingstrengths, weaknesses,opportunities, and threats.

With a thorough understand-ing of strategy, including itshistory and how that strate-gy has been implemented sofar, you can intelligentlystart shaping your group'sstructure to fit it. Look athow the units are structured,how people work together,who has power to make deci-sions, how performance ismeasured and rewarded, andwhat the reporting relation-ships are. In each case, ask:Is this the best way to dothings?

You can't realign a company— or even your group — inthe first 90 days. But youcan gain a deep understand-ing of what's needed andmake a plan. Having a planwill allow you to move for-ward into the next step:building your team.

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7. BUILD YOUR TEAM

The most important decisionyou will make in your first90 days will probably involveselecting the members ofyour team. A high-perfor-mance team can give youtremendous leverage.

Your team analysis will comeinto play here as you decidewho to keep, who to let go,who to hire, and who tomove.

In assessing each member of

your existing team beforemaking changes, consider the person’s competence,judgment, energy, focus, relationships, and trust asthe key elements.

Once you have assessed eachmember of the team, look atthe team as a whole. Firststudy the data. Read reportsand team meeting minutes.Then systematically askquestions about the chal-lenges and opportunities theteam faces. If the responsesare overly consistent, it maysuggest that there’s anagreed-upon party line. Ifthere is too little consistency,the team may not be coherent.

Look at the group dynamics.Are there obvious alliancesor animosities? Who's theleader? Do you see signs ofteam frustration? Pick up onsubtle cues, such as bodylanguage.

Once you have finished yourassessment, you are ready to begin restructuring yourteam. Assign each memberto one of the following categories:

• Keep in place. This issomeone you'll definitelyretain.

• Keep and develop.This is someone you'llhelp move to the nextlevel.

• Move to another posi-tion. This person maywork out, but not in thisjob.

• Observe for a while.This is a wait-and-seesituation.

• Replace. This personwill leave the team

sooner or later.Prioritize these peoplefor termination.

Once you have planned your team restructuring, youcan begin to adjust goals,incentives, and measures ofperformance to fit the teamand the strategy. You'llestablish new team processesand decide who participates,who makes decisions, andwho leads.

Make sure to explain the processes to the teammembers so that everyoneunderstands what shouldhappen and why. You willknow that you have beensuccessful in building yourteam when you reach thebreak-even point, and theenergy the team creates isgreater than the energy youneed to put into it. At thatpoint, you will be ready totake the next step: buildingcoalitions.

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8. CREATING COALITIONS

Your success inevitably willdepend on people who areout of your direct line ofauthority. When this hap-pens, it is important for youto have a network of peopleto support your ideas andgoals. You can't wait untilyou need it. You have tostart creating coalitions earlyon.

One common mistake peoplemake in transition is to paytoo much attention to thoseabove and below them andnot enough attention to thoseon the sides — peers andexternal constituencies.

You'll need to figure out whoyou must influence, who is


likely to support you, whowill oppose you, and thosewho remain undecided butperhaps convincible.

First you need to identify thekey players. Who will beimportant to your success?Start by identifying the critical interfaces betweenyour group and others.Customers and suppliers arenatural places to start. Takethe time to get your boss toconnect you with key outsidepeople. Set up meetings withthem.

Diagnose informal networks ofinfluence. Every organizationhas a "shadow organization"inside of it, consisting ofworking relationships thataren't spelled out in the offi-cial organizational chart.This is how a lot of the realwork gets done.

You need to get inside thatshadow organization. Try to map alliances and discoverwho really holds power. You can do this by watchingcarefully in meetings to seewho defers to whom on cru-cial issues. Also notice whopeople go to for advice, whoshares information, whomarshals resources, and who

owes favors to somebody else.

Once you have done this,draw an influence map (asillustrated below) to depictthe flow of influence amongvarious forces. Then you willbe in a position to say whowill support you, who willoppose you, and who remainsconvincible.

For example, you may beable to convert some oppo-nents by calming their fearsof change, but you do notwant to waste too much timetrying to convert people whowill remain against you.

The best way to spend yourtime is on the undecided.Their motivations may be forstatus, for financial reasons,for job security, or some otherreason. But you'll need tofigure out what stands in theway of them supporting you,and then work to overcomeit.

One way to convince peopleis to bring them along in aseries of small steps towardyour goal. The more irre-versible the steps are, thebetter. For example, if youget people to collect data on how you're doing in

comparison with the competi-tion, and you know it's goingto look bad, you will have putthem in a position wherethey can no longer deny thatchange is necessary.

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9. KEEP YOUR BALANCE

The life of a leader is alwaysa balancing act, but nevermore so than during transi-tion. If you moved from onecity to another, you're in apersonal transition. If youhave a family, they're intransition, too. With all thatturmoil, you're still expectedto get adjusted quickly toyour new job and start per-forming. There are seventraps into which new leaderscan fall in this area. Let'sexamine them.

• The first trap is ridingoff in all directions.There is an infinite num-ber of tasks to choosefrom, but only a few arevital. You can easilyreach mental lock-up,where you simply gofrom task to task, gettingnothing done.

• Trap number two isundefended bound-aries. Establish clearboundaries early on con-cerning what you willand won't do. If youdon’t, no one else will doit for you.

• The third trap is brittle-ness. It's easy to getdefensive in transition,and that leads to rigidityand a need for control. Ifyou stick with a bad deci-sion out of defensiveness,you can doom yourprogress.


AN INFLUENCE MAP

• Trap number four is iso-lation. It is surprisinglyeasy for a new leader toend up isolated.Overwhelmed, you maynot take time to connectwith people. Encouragepeople to share informa-tion, including bad news,with you.

• Trap number five isbiased judgment. Youcan lose perspectivebecause of ego, becauseof a tendency to focus ononly information thatconfirms your views, orbecause of overconfi-dence. In each case, it can keep you frommaking sound decisions.

• The sixth trap is workavoidance. To avoid atough decision, it’s easyto focus on other work toavoid it. You can beincredibly busy — andfailing every day.

• Trap number seven isdriving yourself to thepoint of diminishingreturns. All of thosetraps can generate dangerous levels ofstress. When stress gets too high, you workharder and achieve less,leading to exhaustion orburn-out.

The key to avoiding theseseven traps is to be aware ofyourself. You need disciplineand energy, but you alsoneed self-reflection to keeptabs on how you're doing.Building an advice-and-coun-sel network is an importantstep in doing this.

That group can give youinvaluable support, as wellas feedback on how you'reholding up and clues that

you might miss. Use a mixof internal and external people with strengths intechnical, cultural, and political issues.

Success depends heavily onyour ability to keep your bal-ance during transition andbeyond. Your day-to-dayactions during this period setthe stage for all that follows.With the strategies alreadylaid out, the balancing actwill be well within yourgrasp.

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10. EXPEDITE EVERYONE

You have now gone throughthe main steps involved inaccelerating transition forstunning success in the first90 days on a new job. Thelast, and perhaps mostimportant, step is to bringthis process to the organiza-tion. Imagine the benefit tothe bottom line if everyonecould transition faster.

Most companies pay noattention at all to transitionsand many even put barriersin the way of people who step into new jobs. In someorganizations, it's a sink orswim culture, where seniormanagers view this as a wayto winnow talent.

The first step in introducingthe transition accelerationframework to your organiza-tion is to introduce a newvocabulary to make it possi-ble to talk about it. Peopleneed to be able to approachtheir bosses, peers, anddirect reports and discuss thefollowing:

• The type of transitionthey're entering: start-up,turnaround, realignment,

or sustaining success.

• Their agenda for techni-cal, cultural, and politicallearning, and the key ele-ments of their learningplan.

• Their progress in engag-ing their new boss in the five key conversa-tions about the businesssituation, expectations,communication style,resources, and personaldevelopment.

• Their A-item priorities,goals for behaviorchange, and ideas aboutwhere they can secureearly wins.

• Their priorities forstrengthening theiradvice-and-counsel network.

A common vocabularyensures that these importantconversations not only canbut will take place. Bringingthis kind of change to anorganization is a challenge,but one worth undertaking.Start locally and expand.Your own team members arethe first obvious choices.

When you hire people, forexample, see how quickly youcan get them to the break-even point. Teach themabout the 90-day plan andhelp them develop it.Encourage the five-conversa-tion framework for building arelationship with you. Havethem diagnose the businesssituation and discuss it withyou.

Merge this with the expecta-tions conversation. Workwith them to create a learn-ing agenda and plan. Helpthem identify people who can


support them. Tell them tocreate an A-item list, andpush them toward someearly wins. Then, when theyhave reached break-even, getthem to use the transitionacceleration framework onothers.

You can also use this frame-work for accelerating yourteam building efforts. This isespecially powerful if yourteam mixes people who havebeen around for a while withnew people. Introduce theteam to the STARS Modeland push them to clarify keychallenges and opportunitiesthey'll face as a team. Focuson how the team will defineits A-item priorities andsecure early wins. Explorethe kind of coalitions you'llbuild to marshal the supportyou'll need.

These same approaches canbe used effectively in devel-oping high-potential leaders,in succession planning, andin accelerating post-mergerintegration. When organiza-tions merge, they invariablybring two different languagesto the new organization, andthat can spell disaster. TheSTARS Model gets everyoneto use the same terms fromthe start and can smooth theway to successful transition.

Remember, the ultimate goalbehind transition accelera-tion is to reap big returnsthat ultimately fall to thebottom line. A quick back-of-the-envelope estimate of howmany people are in transitionat any given time — and howmany other people they inturn impact — could show youthe whopping annual cost of

sluggish or failed transitions. When the author surveyedcompany presidents andCEOs, he discovered that theaverage number of peoplewhose performance was sig-nificantly compromised bythe arrival of a new mid-levelmanager is 12.4 people.With one-fourth of your com-pany’s managers in transi-tion at any one time, it iseasy to see why companiesare less productive than theycould be. The STARS Modelcan accelerate the transitionsof all of those people andkeep the machinery of busi-ness running smoothly inthis fast-paced world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Watkinsis an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, wherehe studies leadership and negotiation.

He is the author of several books, including Breakthrough BusinessNegotiation: A Toolbox for Managers and the coauthor of BreakthroughInternational Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World’sToughest Post-Cold War Conflicts, Winning the Influence Game,and Rightfrom the Start.

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The First 90 Days, summarized by arrangement with Harvard Business School Press, fromThe First 90Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels by Michael Watkins. Copyright 2003by Michael Watkins.

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First 90 Days