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Surviving Your First 100 Days

BY: MICHAEL STERN JUNE 7, 2006


There’s a strange paradox of management that can make or break your career – whether you’re a CEO, senior executive or line manager.

The problem: what to do in the first 100 days of a new job. You're under pressure to put your own stamp on things. In fact, you may never again enjoy the free hand and the support from on-high that you have in the first 3-4 months of a new position. And that’s why many new leaders treat this as an opportunity to stir things up and create significant change.

On the other hand, in your first 100 days you're green as a beanstalk. Your knowledge of what’s wrong with your company, division or department will never be less complete. Yes, you probably have a honeymoon period in which to announce bold moves and implement change. But do you really understand the situation well enough to make the right decisions?

Move slowly and you risk being typecast as cautious, indecisive, unsure – the kiss of death for ambitious executives. Move too fast, and you risk flaming out completely – and publicly.

No wonder the average tenure of CEOs is getting shorter and shorter. (It’s now about five years, according to Burson-Marstellar research).

Clearly, some action is called for in your first 100 days. But how do you know what to do? The answer starts with not trying to do it all yourself.

Communicate up. Build strong relationships with the people who brought you on board. They're the ones who will ultimately judge your performance. Find out what they expect of you, and whether you’re on the same page in terms of what needs to be done. How well do they believe things were going before you got here? What do they think is or isn’t working?

These discussions Can also save precious time. Instead of surveying the entire company or division, you can drill down deep on a few problem areas.

Get outside more. Who really knows what’s wrong with your company? Get out and talk to your clients. Find out why they're customers, what they like best about your products or services, and where they think you can improve.

Get details: What specific problems have they encountered? What are three things your company could do better?

Seek out industry experts, consultants familiar with your company or its competitors, suppliers, lawyers – anyone who has enjoyed a window into your company in recent years. You will hear a lot of conflicting views, but with enough input you can filter out the noise and identify the key problems.

Besides, being seen to be meeting key stakeholders will strengthen your political position. Sure, it’s important to make the right decisions. But it’s equally important to ensure that people know you reached them the right way.

Everyone’s a suspect. Your staff already knows new executives can be dangerous. If they think their job is on the line, they’ll be your best pals, they’ll tell you how much they support all you're doing, they may even criticize other people to keep you off their trail. Remember: everyone has their own agenda

Bring in consultants. Since you're so much on your own, you need people on-site whose judgment you can trust – even if you’re paying for them. Yes, their fees can be high – but they're on your side.

Recognize that now is the time. The longer you are in your position, the harder it is to introduce substantial change. Once you've lived with a system, it’s easy to start accepting its faults.

Look beyond the immediate repercussions of your decisions. Will a single mother be put out of work? Who will hire the 55-year old you’d really like to fire? As harsh as it sounds, this is their problem, not yours. Your concern is the long-term viability of everybody’s job, not a few individuals’.

Besides, most people who are laid off or fired remember far longer how it was done than what was said – so make sure all those affected are treated fairly and with respect.

(And set aside your concerns about what might happen. As a longtime search consultant, executive coach and career counselor, I can assure you that most people really are better off in the long run when an unsatisfactory work experience is ended.)

Do your homework. Explore the likely consequences of the changes you are considering. You don't want to find out that the person you just fired is the only one who can do some crucial task. You lose a lot of credibility when you pay someone a severance and then hire them back on contract four weeks later.

Avoid extremes. Don’t come into your job thinking you know everything. On the other hand, don’t blow your opportunity by studying the situation for too long. You can never have all the information you need, so you have to settle for what you can get in the first few months – and then go with your gut.

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Michael Stern is President & CEO of Michael Stern Associates Inc. (www.michaelstern.com) an executive search and executive coaching firm headquartered in Toronto, with affiliates in major business centres worldwide..