You only have 100 days. When you first take office, your first 100 days sets your agenda, makes an impression, and sets expectations on your future contributions to your new employer. Similar to whether it’s justified, due to the enormous challenges facing U.S. President Obama, the first 100-days (or 90-days) of his presidency set expectations of his future performance in the minds of pundits, Congress, and the citizenry. How do we tackle the first 100 days, during our transition into our new management position?

BusinessWeek’s “How To Take The Reins At Top Speed - Getting a jump on a new job before you begin is critical. Enter coaches and consultant” and the “Playbook Best-Practice Ideas” by Jena McGregor are excellent resources for the new manager or C-level transitioning into their new role.

Getting the Job, Identifying the Needs & Priorities

From personal experience, the interview process provides critical information on the needs for your prospective company and boss. While you are trying to secure the job, you’re also problem solving by asking intelligent questions on their priorities and needs for hiring the position. You’re demonstrating that you have the analytic and consensus-building skills for the position. Your prospective boss should easily start visualizing how you’re going to impact his company by meeting his or her requirements. However, you also need to demonstrate that you can exceed their requirements, so it’s all gravy when they secure you.

McGregor’s Playbook for the First 100 Days

Below are McGregor’s tips from the “From 0 to 60 in 100 Days Playbook” with my additional commentary:

1. Never wait for day one: “Getting started before your job officially begins can help make the first day feel more like the 15th. Hold one-on-one meetings with key reports and customers, create a strategic agenda for the first 100 days, and carefully study the company and its financials.” I used my interview process to gather key stakeholder needs and expectations. I didn’t have direct reports yet, so that wasn’t an option. I was also familiar with the customer base, so I didn’t go this route. However, my prospective boss requested a 90-day plan, which was exactly what I had in my toolkit. After my needs assessment and prioritizing the deliverables with my prospective boss, I was able to recommend a plan, complete with a reporting mechanism to track results against plan. In fact, my recommendation for priorities, became my 90-day plan after I was hired.
2. Unearth new stories: “In those early meetings, ferret out lesser-known anecdotes about the new company you can share when trying to illustrate a point. Telling tales about your former company will only alienate your new colleagues.” I understand McGregor highlighting that one should not tell tales of former companies. However, I was specifically recruited for my background with former employers. My boss wanted the tales, so we could improve by tailoring our strategy and tactics, based lessons learned from my former experiences. You should use your judgment on this item.
3. Think in threes: “It’s easy for new leaders to get overwhelmed by all the goals they set—and confuse people in the process. Three broad themes, says Spencer Stuart recruiter James Citrin, are easy for people to remember, and help clarify and organize priorities.” During my first 90-days, the three themes I chose were: (1) identify the urgent needs and deliver them; (2) create repeatable processes; (3) and report results to plan. I made sure that I reported on my progress during our executive team meetings so everyone could stay informed and provide feedback or other advice. Frankly, I used this formula every 90-days, when one plan concluded and another 90-day plan with new priorities started.
4. Find your “shadow board”: “New leaders should quickly ascertain, who the people are that their boss will turn to for perspective on them. Fail to impress those people, and “they can bury you,” says onboarding consultant George Bradt.” My executive peers were the shadow board along with two other key people. Fortunately, the management style was open and candid, so there wasn’t a need to work the shadow board. But most companies are not like this. I understand the need to build strong and trusting relationships with these key stakeholders. Identify who’s on your shadow board, and come up with a plan to communicate your results to them.
5. Map out quick wins: “Don’t plan on a honeymoon. Early on, come up with a few important but easy-to-reach goals you can point out to the board, Wall Street, or employees as proof of what you or the organization can achieve.” I new that one key hire onto my team would be a shot in the arm for me. I was able to secure them. I also knew that the urgent deliverables would give me the quick wins that I needed to help secure in my boss’s mind that he made the right hire in me. It worked. In fact, I worked my tail off to ensure I over-delivered during my 30 days, coming in ahead of schedule. This performance left a lasting impression, that I delivered on my promises, building goodwill and solidify my work relationship with my CEO.

Communicate Progress

The first 100/90-days are exciting, but the most risky. It’s imperative that you define the 100/90 day plan with hard due dates. It’s imperative do everything in your power to meet those deadlines. More importantly, always report on your progress by informing key stakeholders of the deliverables completed, the upcoming deliverables and when they will be done, the percentage complete and the percentage remaining. Remember, 100/90 day plans can be flexible and priorities will change. Make sure you work with you boss as priorities and due date changes. The first 100 days isn’t just for middle managers or C-levels, but for any knowledge worker transitioning into a new job.

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