The First 90 Days provides strategies for new leaders to set a successful trajectory in their first three months through self-promotion, learning acceleration, strategy alignment, and team building.
Main Lessons
- Mentally promote yourself by leaving past roles behind and embracing new responsibilities.
- Prepare for your transition by learning about your new organization before starting.
- Assess and address your vulnerabilities to avoid potential pitfalls.
- Match your strategy to your situation: startup, turnaround, realignment, or sustaining success.
- Focus on securing early wins to build momentum and credibility.
- Negotiate success with your boss through clarity on expectations and resources.
- Align organizational architecture—strategy, structure, systems, skills, and culture.
- Build a high-performing team by evaluating and rearranging current team members.
- Create coalitions by influencing across the organization, not just vertically.
- Maintain balance by performing self-assessments and managing personal focus.
- Avoid leadership traps like over-commitment and isolation by adopting success strategies.
- Build strong support systems to stabilize home life and network for counsel and advice.
