An Excerpt from You're in Charge — Now What?
When you start as CEO, it’s crucial that you do some work before you begin.
“The days up to where you take the job are some of the most important to being successful,” PayPal CEO Dan Schulman told us. “Day one on the job better not be day one where you’re putting your action plan into place. It should be well underway by the time you get there.”
Figuring out your priorities
Establishing and maintaining the right priorities is one of the greatest challenges a new leader faces. One of your goals in the countdown period is to shape events before they shape you.
In the course of our research, we asked CEOs how they thought they would spend time during the first 100 days, and then compared that to how they actually spent that time. Most reported they wanted to spend the bulk of their time with senior management, employees, customers, the board, investors, analysts and the media, respectively. In reality, a large chunk of their time was spent addressing the media and investors.
When asked the most important actions to get off to a good start, CEOs listed: absorbing information, defining challenges, assessing the senior management team, winning employees’ trust and preparing emotionally as the most important actions for getting a good start.
While countdown periods differ, the common goal is to learn as much as possible about the new company beforehand. This typically involves diagnosing challenges and opportunities, identifying key constituencies, forging alliances and building relationships.
Insider vs. outsider
If you’re an insider taking over the reins, your knowledge of the company and its culture gives you a running start. These advantages, however, are counterbalanced by two drawbacks: you don’t have the clarity of an outsider’s perspective, and you will have less permission to stir things up.
CEOs coming from the outside face different opportunities and challenges — while appointing an external CEO signals change, it doesn’t imply acceptance of that change.
A newcomer generally has a honeymoon period in which to establish credibility and learn the company’s business and culture. You need to understand how the management team works, how the company operates, where it’s been and where it’s headed — and how your abilities fit into the mix.
Immersion is essential, so use the countdown period — regardless of whether you have months or days — to prepare yourself. Don’t draw up an action plan that is too well developed. It may be wrong, or you may struggle to get buy-in.
The importance of having a vision is debatable in the early days, despite media fondness for such statements from high-profile leaders. Indeed, crafting a vision statement in the first 100 days may be premature and not the best use of your time.
Gathering resources
Get a handle on the company’s business model — i.e., how it makes money — and identify who has the potential to help you further that aim. You also need to assess your own skills and determine whether you have the knowledge or the network to meet the challenges — and where you may need help.
Shape up
This may sound trivial, but it’s not: Make sure you are in good physical shape so you can handle the first 100 days. You’ll need to be in top shape because eventually you’re going to be faced with a tricky problem, and it helps to have stamina to work with the issue.
Don’t go it alone
It also helps to have a confidant — someone to bounce ideas off who understands the context of the challenges and can point out your faults. It may be your spouse, a friend or colleague, a consultant, or a banker or experienced CEO who isn’t on the board or otherwise connected to the company. Many new CEOs choose a member of the board’s search committee or the consultant who led the search. Whoever it is, remember that having help increases your chances of success.
Conclusion
The countdown process varies from person to person and from situation to situation, but it’s the time when you create the conditions that will make you most effective in your role. It is the time to prioritize your to-do list, gather your resources and ensure you are physically and emotionally ready for the job. Make it count.