The First 90 Days Quotes

“To be successful, you need to mobilize the energy of many others in your organization. If you do the right things, then your vision, your expertise, and your drive can propel you forward and serve as seed crystals.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Leadership ultimately is about influence and leverage. You are, after all, only one person. To be successful, you need to mobilize the energy of many others in your organization.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Joining a new company is akin to an organ transplant—and you’re the new organ. If you’re not thoughtful in adapting to the new situation, you could end up being attacked by the organizational immune system and rejected.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Aligning an organization is like preparing for a long sailing trip. First, you need to be clear on whether your destination (the mission and goals) and your route (the strategy) are the right ones. Then you can figure out which boat you need (the structure), how to outfit it (the processes), and which mix of crew members is best (the skill bases). Throughout the journey, you keep an eye out for reefs that are not on the charts.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Match Strategy to Situation”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Begin with no; it's easier to say yes later. It's difficult (and damaging to your reputation) to say yes and then change your mind.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels

“Assume that the job of building a positive relationship with your new boss is 100 percent your responsibility. In short, this means adapting to his style.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“The most important decisions you make in your first 90 days will probably be about people.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Secure early wins. Early wins build your credibility and create momentum.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Remember: simply displaying a genuine desire to learn and understand translates into increased credibility and influence.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“The first task in making a successful transition is to accelerate your learning. Effective learning gives you the foundational insights you need as you build your plan for the next 90 days. So it is essential to figure out what you need to know about your new organization and then to learn it as rapidly as you can. The more efficiently and effectively you learn, the more quickly you will close your window of vulnerability.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“When you are diagnosing a new organization, start by meeting with your direct reports one-on-one. (This is an example of taking a horizontal slice across an organization by interviewing people at the same level in different functions.) Ask them essentially the same five questions: What are the biggest challenges the organization is facing (or will face in the near future)? Why is the organization facing (or going to face) these challenges? What are the most promising unexploited opportunities for growth? What would need to happen for the organization to exploit the potential of these opportunities? If you were me, what would you focus attention on?”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Build your team. If you are inheriting a team, you need to evaluate, align, and mobilize its members. You likely also need to restructure it to better meet the demands of the situation. Your willingness to make tough early personnel calls and your capacity to select the right people for the right positions are among the most important drivers of success during your transition and beyond.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Take 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work. This is the flip side of “Don’t stay away.” Don’t expect your boss to reach out or to offer you the time and support you need. It’s best to begin by assuming that it’s on your shoulders to make the relationship work.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Don’t surprise your boss. It’s no fun bringing your boss bad news. However, most bosses consider it a far greater sin not to report emerging problems early enough.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Don’t stay away. If you have a boss who doesn’t reach out to you, or with whom you have uncomfortable interactions, you will have to reach out yourself.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Don’t run down your checklist. There is a tendency, even for senior leaders, to use meetings with a boss as an opportunity to run through your checklist of what you’ve been doing. Sometimes this is appropriate, but it is rarely what your boss needs or wants to hear. You should assume she wants to focus on the most important things you’re trying to do and how she can help.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Remember: You don’t want to be meeting your neighbours for the first time in the middle of the night when your house is burning”
― Michael D. Watkins, First 90 Days: Proven Strategies

“Aim for early wins in areas important to the boss. Whatever your own priorities, figure out what your boss cares about most. What are his priorities and goals, and how do your actions fit into this picture? Once you know, aim for early results in those areas. One good way is to focus on three things that are important to your boss and discuss what you’re doing about them every time you interact.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Pursue good marks from those whose opinions your boss respects. Your new boss’s opinion of you will be based in part on direct interactions and in part on what she hears about you from trusted others.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Finally, when your relationship with your boss has matured a bit (roughly the 90-day mark is a good rule of thumb), begin to discuss how you’re doing.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“If it is humanly possible, you should plan to have one or more in-person meetings with your boss early on. It is essential to make face-to-face connections early on to begin to establish a basis of confidence and trust (the same is true if you’re leading a virtual team). So if this means you need to fight for the resources and fly halfway around the world, you should do it.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Strategic direction encompasses mission, vision, and strategy. Mission is about what will be achieved, vision is about why people should feel motivated to perform at a high level, and strategy is about how resources should be allocated and decisions made to accomplish the mission. If you keep in mind the what, the why, and the how, you won’t get lost in debates about what a mission is, what a vision is, and what a strategy is.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Once people perceive that change is going to happen, the game often shifts from outright opposition to a competition to influence what sort of change will occur.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Onboarding checklists Business orientation checklist As early as possible, get access to publicly available information about financials, products, strategy, and brands. Identify additional sources of information, such as websites and analyst reports. If appropriate for your level, ask the business to assemble a briefing book. If possible, schedule familiarization tours of key facilities before the formal start date. Stakeholder connection checklist Ask your boss to identify and introduce you to the key people you should connect with early on. If possible, meet with some stakeholders before the formal start. Take control of your calendar, and schedule early meetings with key stakeholders. Be careful to focus on lateral relationships (peers, others) and not only vertical ones (boss, direct reports). Expectations alignment checklist Understand and engage in business planning and performance management. No matter how well you think you understand what you need to do, schedule a conversation with your boss about expectations in your first week. Have explicit conversations about working styles with bosses and direct reports as early as possible. Cultural adaptation checklist During recruiting, ask questions about the organization’s culture. Schedule conversations with your new boss and HR to discuss work culture, and check back with them regularly. Identify people inside the organization who could serve as culture interpreters. After thirty days, conduct an informal 360-degree check-in with your boss and peers to gauge how adaptation is proceeding.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Mission is about what will be achieved, vision is about why people should feel motivated to perform at a high level, and strategy is about how resources should be allocated and decisions made to accomplish the mission.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“A long tradition of hiring from within makes it difficult for some organizations to accept outsiders.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Negotiate time lines for diagnosis and action planning. Don’t let yourself get caught up immediately in firefighting or be pressured to make calls before you’re ready. Buy yourself some time, even if it’s only a few weeks, to diagnose the new organization and come up with an action plan.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“The good news about moving up is that you get a broader view of the business and more latitude to shape it. The bad news is that you are farther from the front lines and more likely to receive filtered information.”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“The situational diagnosis conversation. In this conversation, you seek to understand how your new boss sees the STARS portfolio you have inherited. Are there elements of start-up, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, and sustaining success? How did the organization reach this point? What factors—both soft and hard—make this situation a challenge? What resources within the organization can you draw on?”
― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter