If you don’t plan your first 90 days on the job, it will plan you!
Congratulations on your new position! Now comes the hard part.
Your first three months on the job sets you up for success in your new role but here’s the key: it’s about the approach you take not the tasks you do that make the difference.
The winning approach for your first 90 days on the job is to spend it setting and executing a 90-day plan for your new role. If you don’t plan your transition, circumstances will do the planning for you.
When building your 90-day plan, focus on three time blocks: the first 30 days, the first 60 days, and the first 90 days. (Hint: Each block should build upon the previous one)
The First 30 days
Focus the first 30 days on internal assessment and understanding your company’s operations. Spend as much time as you can with your direct team and your immediate customers to understand the company culture. Ask them questions like:
What frustrates You about the company and what happened when you tried to change it?
What motivates you and your team?
What would the perfect company culture be like for you?
Do you feel aligned with the company vision? Is the entire executive team aligned with it and executing towards it?
What are our top 3 business goals?
The information you gathered must translate the input into a clear Guide-on. The guide-on will focus on what you plan to achieve in the next year. Share it through direct reports in a team meeting where you share:
Why you are here
What you have been asked to do
How you propose to do it (include detailed plans and timings)
Why you need their input and why they are important as individuals and as a team.
The information from this meeting is foundational to the 60-day guide for you and your direct team.
The First 60 days
Focus your 60-day plan on people and processes.
Start by defining and redefining the roles and people of your team and keep a critical eye on the situation. Determine if you have the right people in the right roles and the gaps in the organization (Hint: This is the hardest part of your first 90 days. If you don’t address this issue truthfully now, you might not have that chance again.)
Next, determine if you have the right processes and measurements to achieve the goals you outlined in your first 30 days.
Lastly, put together an Early Win Plan. Your early win plan defines the wins you can achieve in the first 90 days. Make sure that your early wins are seen and recognized by the team and management.
The First 90 days
The 90-day timeframe is about getting momentum in your operations, people and process goals. You want to get the right people into the right goals and ensure make sure new and existing staff have the right processes to implement the vision you set out in your Guide-on. Document your success against your early win plan and communicate it to your team and management.
The Next 90 Days
Your first 90 days are finished but you should never stop planning for success. You should continue planning for the next 90 days... and the next 90 days after that…
If you need more information here are some great resources for you to use:
“The first 90 Days” by Michael Watkins
“The New Leader’s 100-day action plan” by George B. Bradt, Jayme A Check and Jorge E. Pedraza
Best,
Dan
“It’s lonely at the top, but you don’t have to go it alone.”