The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded

Watkins presents the crucial aspect of building alliances and securing support to in a new leadership role. He emphasizes that, to succeed, one often needs the cooperation and backing of individuals over whom they have no direct authority. This is particularly relevant in a new organization or role, when relationship capital is limited.

Watkins underscores the importance of proactively building new networks and cultivating “relationship bank accounts” with key individuals whose support will be essential in the future (156). Watkins provides a practical framework for defining influence objectives by identifying the alliances required to secure early wins.

He points out the significance of identifying both supporters and potential opponents, as well as those who are able to be persuaded. Watkins introduces the idea of “pivotal people” (164): individuals whose support can significantly impact the success of one's initiatives. According to Watkins, to influence effectively, it is essential to comprehend these individuals' intrinsic motivator. The logic behind this information is clear: By understanding the motivations and constraints of key players, leaders can tailor their approaches and build more effective alliances.

Watkins advocates for the importance of identifying power coalitions and influence networks, which often operate informally within organizations and play a crucial role in decision-making. He presents the real-world example of Alexia Belenko negotiating a marketing decision-making process. The complexity of her situation illustrates how “the work you’ve done to map influence networks in your organization can also help you pinpoint potential supporters, opponents, and persuadables” (161).

Watkins underscores the significance of key influence strategies when assuming a new role, which include consultation, framing, choice-shaping, social influence, incrementalism, sequencing, and action-forcing events. Consultation, involving active listening and summarizing feedback, aids in generating buy-in by showcasing attentiveness and molding perspectives. Framing entails tailoring persuasive arguments to align with individual motivations and circumstances, while choice-shaping is about making it challenging for someone to decline an offer and broadening alternatives for mutual benefit. Social influence relies on consistency with values, commitments, and obligations. Incrementalism involves gradual progress, while sequencing strategically engages the right stakeholders. Action-forcing events, such as meetings, deadlines, and scrutiny, prevent inaction and spur commitment.

These strategies form a comprehensive toolkit for new leaders to build effective influence in their new roles. The chapter concludes by summarizing: Building alliances requires a deep understanding of influential individuals, their motivations, and the context in which they operate.

Watkins emphasizes the importance of managing oneself effectively during transitions, acknowledging that such periods are rife with uncertainty. Balancing personal and professional change is crucial. Watkins introduces a structured reflection exercise to assess one's feelings and experiences during the transition. This exercise prompts self-evaluation regarding excitement, confidence, and control, as well as identifying troublesome situations and missed opportunities. Watkins further discusses the common experience of leaders entering a “valley” of uncertainty approximately three to six months into a new role, emphasizing that maintaining enthusiasm and applying a 90-day plan can help manage this period.

The chapter presents four syndromes that may impact leaders during transitions: undetermined boundaries, brittleness, isolation, and work avoidance. Watkins explains how these syndromes can contribute to heightened stress and their potential negative consequences, such as underperformance or burnout. He introduces the Yerkes-Dodson curve (which shows that performance deteriorates with very high or very low stress) to illustrate the relationship between stress and performance.

Watkins outlines a three-pillar approach to self-management during transitions. The first pillar is the adoption of the 90-day strategies detailed in previous chapters, which serve as a foundation for building confidence and momentum. Pillar 2 revolves around personal disciplines and their importance in effecting change and success. Watkins underscores that success ultimately stems from daily choices and routines. He advises leaders to identify personal disciplines that align with their strengths and weaknesses. The suggested disciplines include planning, focusing on important tasks, deferring commitments, and mastering emotional control. These routines enable leaders to gain better control over their transitions and enhance productivity.

The third pillar, building support systems, involves establishing essential structures that stabilize both one's work environment and personal life. In this context, Watkins urges leaders to prioritize organizing their office, defining routines, and ensuring that expectations are clear. For leaders relocating with their families, a critical focus is stabilizing the home front. He offers guidance for this, including maintaining family rituals and analyzing the existing support system to ensure a smooth family transition. Watkins also emphasizes the role of external relocation services provided by companies.

Furthermore, the chapter emphasizes the significance of building an advice-and-counsel network, advocating for leaders to seek three types of advisers: technical advisers, cultural interpreters, and political counselors. Watkins suggests that these advisers can be both internal and external, as they provide diverse perspectives and insights. He highlights the need for loyal external supporters and trustworthy internal advisers. Watkins underscores that vigilance is necessary to maintain discipline and support systems throughout the transition process. 

In the last chapter, Watkins highlights the importance of accelerating leadership transitions at all levels within organizations. He underscores the far-reaching impact of leadership transitions, not only on the individuals involved but on the companies themselves. Watkins refers to the financial consequences of failed transitions such as decreased growth, delayed initiatives, and loss of high-potential talents. He suggests that “an acceleration system is an essential element of the organizational change management toolkit” (189), as it can help reduce enterprise risk, enhance competitiveness, and expedite change implementation.

Watkins presents evidence from independent research, showing that transition acceleration can reduce time-to-break-even by as much as 40%, yielding a substantial return on investment. Additionally, he discusses the broader organizational impact of leadership transitions; approximately a quarter of Fortune 500 company leaders change roles each year, affecting the performance of those around them. Watkins suggests that accelerating these transitions by even a modest 10% can significantly contribute to improving company performance, providing a competitive advantage and increasing organizational agility.

To guide organizations in designing effective acceleration systems, Watkins introduces 10 design principles:

1. “Identify the critical transitions” (189), which refers to understanding the frequency and types of transitions occurring within the organization to focus on the most important ones.
2. “Identify set-up-to-fail dynamics” to address systematic mistakes made during leadership transitions (190).
3. “Diagnose existing transition support” (191), which means that companies should assess their current transition support frameworks and tools.
4. “Adopt a common core model” (193), referring to a unified framework and toolkit for all leaders in transition to enable more efficient and effective discussions and planning.
5. “Deliver support just in time” (194), which suggests that transition support should align with the evolving stages of the transition process.
6. “Use structured processes” (195), referring to how action-forcing events and focused sessions can help leaders to stay on track.
7. “Match support to transition type” (195), which suggests that different transition types may require specialized resources and support.
8. “Match transition support to leader level” (196), which entails providing varying levels of support according to the leader's position to optimize the investment.
9. “Clarify roles and align incentives” (197), which refers to establishing the roles of various stakeholders and ensuring that they have the necessary incentives to provide support.
10. “Integrate with other talent management systems” (198), which suggests that transition acceleration systems should be linked with recruiting and leadership development systems to create a coherent talent management process.