The First 90 days
{SEE BUILDS BELOW}
If a career is a series of transitions, and their number is rising, developing repeatable skills for navigating them is increasingly important. Such is a key argument of The First 90 Days, the best-selling leadership and transition Bible for middle managers moving into new roles. Described as ‘a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively,’ what makes Michael Watkin’s book so popular and so influential, and can its principles stretch beyond your first three months in a new role? / or even if you've been in the same role for a number of years.
Breaking Even
Part of the book’s appeal is the simplicity and the tangibility of its arguments. It starts by offering a very clear figure: 6.2. That’s how many months it takes for a typical manager to get ‘up to speed’; the point at which their output starts to exceed the cost for employing them. Author Michael Watkins describes this as the ‘breakeven point’.
Some simple deduction (and maths) suggests that by following 10 simple strategic goals, this can be achieved in much shorter time.
The 10 strategies to accelerate your transition
Transition Traps
Yet the challenge are transition traps: Critical mistakes that leaders (including those who have been successful) make. It is often this success that leads them to make preconceived assumptions about the new environment, focusing on technicalities and managing vertically at the expense of peers, culture, politics, expectations, and ways of working, leading to rushing and even desperation. As a result, one of Watkin’s pillars of success (forming alliances) fails to materialise as credibility and patience is irretrievably lost.
Another strength of The First 90 Days is it offers clear solutions and waypoints to navigate through these challenges. This includes working examples for each of the 10 pillars, questions to help you track and validate your transitions, and checklists and tools to keep you on course and feeling confident.
The Playhouse Perspective
We’ve taken The First 90 Days’ 10 strategies for transition acceleration, and adjusted it slightly to focus on longer-term[?] success. It looks like this:
Match strategy to situation
Achieve alignment (of systems & culture)
Secure early wins
Create alliances or build your board
Identify root causes (of problems)
Get practical
Accelerate everyone
It’s worth noting the so-called omissions; know what motivates you, negotiate success, manage yourself, speed up your learning and build your team. These are all core to our own coaching methods. They’re not listed here because we consider them prerequisites for successful leadership and personal growth. Click here to find out more.
BUILDS - To be added
Let’s answer the question: Who is this book for? This can also be for people in a rut in their current role...
It’s very practical. Almost a secret weapon
Good to check in at the start of the week, and at the end
So how do you use it?
Look at the checklists
Keep it in mind for various things you’re doing. BEFORE you start. Interviews etc.
To ensure virtuous transitions…
This means lots of checklists and diagrams. Don’t shy away from the nuts and bolts of working efficiently. Capture the work, in detail, size the tasks, and start working your way through. Apart from being the only true way of working efficiently, it’s also a sure-fire way to generate momentum -- something that you invariably need to perform at your peak.
Everyone should have a board. But it should not be limited to the external world. Your board should ideally face internally too.
