The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good way to get prepared
  • Practical and Actionable. It is an excellent book on the subject of management transitions.
  • *****First 90 Days
  • A Must Read
  • Some great tips, but often not well developed or organized
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
Michael Watkins
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
LeadershipLeadership | Harvard Business School Press | By Publisher | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ManagementManagement | Harvard Business School Press | By Publisher | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Strategy PlanningStrategy Planning | Harvard Business School Press | By Publisher | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem SolvingDecision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
LeadershipLeadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ManagementManagement | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Organizational ChangeOrganizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1591391105

Book Description

Whether challenged with taking on a startup, turning a business around, or inheriting a high-performing unit, a new leader's success or failure is determined within the first 90 days on the job.

In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one's career. The First 90 Days provides a framework for transition acceleration that will help leaders diagnose their situations, craft winning transition strategies, and take charge quickly.

Practical examples illustrate how to learn about new organizations, build teams, create coalitions, secure early wins, and lay the foundation for longer-term success. In addition, Watkins provides strategies for avoiding the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter, and shows how individuals can protect themselves-emotionally as well as professionally-during what is often an intense and vulnerable period.

Concise and actionable, this is the survival guide no new leader should be without.

"Few companies develop a systematic 'on-boarding' process for their new leaders, even though this is a critical function with major organizational implications. Michael Watkins's The First 90 Days provides a powerful framework and strategies that will enable new leaders to take charge quickly. It is an invaluable tool for that most vulnerable time-the transition."


-Goli Darabi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Leadership & Succession Management, Fidelity Investments

"Every job-private- or public-sector, civilian or military-has its breakeven point, and everyone can accelerate their learning. Read this book at least twice: once before your next transition-before getting caught up in the whirl and blur of new faces, names, acronyms, and issues; then read it again after you've settled in, and consider how to accelerate transitions for your next new boss and for those who come to work for you."


-Colonel Eli Alford, U.S. Army

"Watkins provides an excellent road map, telling us what all new leaders need to know and do to accelerate their learning and success in a new role. The First 90 Days should be incorporated into every company's leadership development strategy, so that anyone making a transition in an organization can get up to speed quicker and smarter."


-Suzanne M. Danielle, Director of Global Leadership Development, Aventis

"Michael Watkins has nailed a huge corporate problem and provided the solution in one fell swoop. The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. Watkins's timing with The First 90 Days is impeccable."


-Gordon Curtis, Principal, Curtis Consulting



"The First 90 Days is a must-read for entrepreneurs. Anyone who's been the CEO of a start-up or early-stage company knows that you go through many 90-day leadership transitions in the course of a company's formative years. In this groundbreaking book, Michael Watkins provides crucial insights, as well as a toolkit of techniques, to enable you to accelerate through these transitions successfully."


-Mike Kinkead, President and CEO, timeBLASTER Corporation, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder and Trustee, Massachusetts Software Council


Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Good way to get prepared.......2007-07-04

It just makes sense, and is very thorough. Many things I would not have thought about, or gotten around to thinking about - we live in such a fast paced world that it would have been a challenge to do. Luckily, I had a cross country trip, so this gave me the time to read this book and compile my "list" of notes and apply them to my upcoming job change. Bottom line - many good new perspectives that I simply would not have thought of. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Practical and Actionable. It is an excellent book on the subject of management transitions........2007-06-22

As a human resources professional, I have seen a great deal of management transition. Many succeed but some do not. Unfortunately for our people and our organizations those that do not leave a stream of damage in their wake.

Recently I wrote a review about Scott Eblin's, "The Next Level" and I called it a real disappointment. This book is not and it is a far more actionable and practical approach to managing transitions.

One of the reasons this book is so practical is that each section not only provides you with clear direction but each section also ends with an action checklist. This make creating a 90-day transition plan doable and improves your prospects for success.

Lastly, the steps from this book create a framework that a company can use to create a "transition strategy" for all its new and upwardly moving managers. This alone will enable a firm to increase their odds that a new hire or promotion will be in the "win" column.

5 out of 5 stars *****First 90 Days.......2007-06-10

I only ordered this for a superior and he is VERY VERY happy with the book...he asked for it by name so we ordered three copies! Thank you for the great service you provide.

4 out of 5 stars A Must Read.......2007-05-30

Great book for all business leaders who are advancing to a new role or coming from the outside into an organization. Simple, easy to read with pertinent lessons for a successful transition.

2 out of 5 stars Some great tips, but often not well developed or organized.......2007-05-28

We bought this book along with the "New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan" and read them side by side.

Pro:
-"STaRS" concept is excellent. Start-ups, Turnarounds, Realignments and Sustaining success are all different scenarios that you might be thrown into, and the environment you join directly affects what you need to do.
-Checklists are helpful, when available, to boil thoughts down to the most essential elements
-There are many good tips interspersed throughout the book that are good reminders of the basics you need to adhere to in order to be successful
-Breaks the "sink or swim mindset" often associated with starting a new position

Con:
-Does not really address the time opportunity BEFORE you start a job and in my experience is a major lost opportunity that I've been able to surprise and delight. Set up pre-meetings, arranging for email/phone and a place to sit, etc. as a chance to listen and learn without the pressure to perform. Any items that can/should be done ahead of time appear to me as afterthoughts, underdeveloped, and often out of sequence in this text.
-Would not serve as a handy reference... better chapter summaries and a stronger introduction with time lines and meaty chapter outline would have been helpful both now and in the future
-I think that many good concepts like "STaRS" were underdeveloped or under leveraged... I sense more detail that was perhaps omitted
-To me, many of the illustrations were filler and did not offer additional information
-Sometimes poor or awkward word choice or idea sequence (e.g. rather than "Promote Yourself" why not just call it "Prepare Yourself" as this is what you are really saying, so why not just say it that way?)
-Real life examples were unnecessarily detailed, consuming time and space that I think could be better used by the author as he's clearly brilliant and has some great observations
-I think that the scope is too narrow, picks up after you've started the job (day 1) and neglects the opportunity (and chaos) beforehand of the interview, moving, doing "pre-work" to get your basics at work set-up

Bottom line: While there were some interesting moments, I was disappointed. The book does offer several cautionary tales of CEOs who crashed and burned, and if nothing else serves as both warning and motivation to be smarter about your transition.
Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Super Social
  • Thought-provoking for non-profits
  • A must read for anyone in a leadership position
  • Great Principles make for Great Outcomes
  • Good to GREAT
Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
Jim Collins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0977326403

Book Description

Jim Collins Answers the Social Sector with a Monograph to Accompany Good to Great. 30-50% of those who bought Good to Great work in the Social Sector.