You want to get off to a good start with everyone excited and enthusiastic about what you're going to do in the role. So what is the question that gets asked? It's this, what is your plan for your first 90 days? Or sometimes it's another variation, like what is your plan for your first year or something similar.
You might be in the running for a promotion or to head a new project in your organization, for example. Or you might be a candidate for a great job in a completely different organization. Whatever the context, you're likely to face this question several times in your career, and it's always a good idea to wow people with your answer.
You want to get off to a good start with everyone excited and enthusiastic about what you're going to do in the role. So what is the question that gets asked? It's this, what is your plan for your first 90 days? Or sometimes it's another variation, like what is your plan for your first year or something similar.
The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins - Purchase on Amazon
Kathy: Well, hello there everyone. We record these episodes in the studios of Portland pod with producer, extraordinary Tanner Campbell, and often they don't get aired until several weeks later.
[00:00:14] So all it's right before the Christmas week for Tanner and myself. You're probably hearing this episode early in the new year. That got me thinking of new beginnings and specifically a question that you sometimes have to answer when you're facing a new beginning in your career. What do I mean by that?
[00:00:35] Well, you might be in the running for a promotion or to head a new project in your organization, for example. Or you might be a candidate for a great job in a completely different organization. Whatever the context, you're likely to face this question several times in your career, and it's always a good idea to wow people with your answer.
[00:00:59] You want to get off to a good start with everyone excited and enthusiastic about what you're going to do in the role. So what is the question that gets asked? It's this, what is your plan for your first 90 days? Or sometimes it's another variation, like what is your plan for your first year or something similar.
[00:01:23] However prepared you are to answer that question, and because most listeners to this podcast are highly motivated leaders, I assume you're very likely to be prepared. You still may be missing an opportunity to wow people. That's because we take this question very literally and we start to list the actions we're going to take in our first three months in the role.
[00:01:49] Of course we do. Because isn't that what the question or wants? No, and that's a pretty definitive no, by the way, whether the questioner is conscious of it or not, what he or she wants is reassurance, not a list of activities. What does reassurance look like? It looks like you have a well-grounded strategy for how much value you're going to add in the role approximately when you're going to add it and the means by which you'll get there.
[00:02:26] That's different from a list of actions. When you answer this question with a list of actions, you give people a sense of activity and busy-ness. But you don't give them strong reassurance that all that busy-ness results in any value. The first 90 days question is an unintentional trick question. The person who asks it thinks that the list of actions is the information he or she needs, but it really isn't.
[00:03:00] So no matter how detailed your response, he or she will still continue to have that need to feel reassured, to be wowed and completely confident that you'll be a success in the role and you haven't yet met that need. Well then what is a really great answer to the question and answer that will make you shine and look head and shoulders above any of the other candidates for the role?
[00:03:29] Well, my friends I have you covered here are five easy, but really powerful tips that will get you there. So tip number one, don't accept too short a timeframe. One of the reasons why the first 90 days question is so problematic is that it creates an artificial timeframe. In the average organization, 90 days is too short a period to add any meaningful value.
[00:04:01] People might like you and respect you by that time, and you might have built a foundation for adding value in the future. But if you limit yourself to talking about your first 90 days, you'll find it hard to talk about adding value at all. Michael Watkins book, the first 90 days, which is where this all started, was a great contribution to management.
[00:04:27] Thinking on how to do a better job with onboarding. It's a checklist approach to a topic that really benefits from having a checklist. But the title he used was a catchy one, and since his book was published many years ago, the title has been now used as a catch phrase for a wide variety of topics where success depends less on having a checklist and more on having a strategy, a much better timeframe to describe how you would approach a role is one year.
[00:05:06] A year generally gives you the chance to make a meaningful contribution, even if you're still early in the role. The only exception I can think of to that timeframe is if you're being asked about leading a significant project, then you might consider a timeframe more closely aligned to one of the major milestones for the project.
[00:05:28] So when you get asked what you plan to do in your first 90 days. How do you indicate that you prefer to change the timeframe? Simply say, I always find that what I do in the first 90 days is highly dependent on what I'm targeting to accomplish in the first year. So let me start there. I've never seen anyone have a problem with that response, so don't be nervous about using it.
[00:05:58] Okay. Tip number two, talk about having a roadmap versus a plan. One of the problems with using the word plan is that it can box you in a year is a long time and lots of unexpected things can happen when you're in a new role. If you're not yet in the role and you've set the expectation that you have a highly structured plan for that first year, what happens when you're one month into the job and you've run into an unexpected challenge?
[00:06:33] You either have to scramble or you have a lot of explaining to do as to why you're suddenly behind in your plan. On the other hand, I'm sure you agree that you should enter the role with a good sense of direction. And a goal is to where you want to be in a year's time. So what's a good way to describe that to other people?
[00:06:55] So they're reassured that you won't just be winging it. You call your strategy a roadmap versus a plan. So let's talk about why the concept of a roadmap works. Think about getting ready for an extended road trip. You know where you're starting, where you want to go, and when you want to get there. The map helps you form a point of view as to which route you'll take, the major destinations along your route, and perhaps how much ground you'll cover every day.
[00:07:32] But if any unexpected detours happen. Where a flat tire occurs, you're not boxed in to keeping your route. You have options. You might cut down on some of the interesting side trips or increase your mileage each day, for example. The map will help you figure that all out. The same concept holds true for your first year in a new role.
[00:07:57] Your best approach is to have a good sense of purpose and direction and a knowledge of the major milestones along the way, but you also want to have the flexibility to deal smoothly and effectively with any of the unexpected challenges that occur. After all, you're not in the role yet and you haven't gotten the lay of the land.
[00:08:20] It would be too unrealistic and even naive to assume that you know everything. So you need that flexibility. Talking about the roadmap for your first year shows that you're a good navigator, one who thinks of things in terms of strategy. Simply tell your questioner that until you're actually in the role, you prefer to think about a roadmap versus your plan and explain why the two are different.
[00:08:51] You'll impress the questioner with your insight. Okay. Ready for tip number three? Start at the end, not the beginning. Starting at the end point of that first year versus the beginning is a great approach, not only for your answer, but for your own planning, for the role. Why is that the case? Well, if we continue to use the road trip analogy, you don't plan an extended road trip without having an end point in mind.
[00:09:27] And once you have that end point, it's so much easier to figure out how to get there by reverse engineering your route, saying to yourself something like, if I need to get from New York. To San Francisco in five days. I need to get to Las Vegas, for example, by day four and I need to get to Denver by day three starting at the end of the first year.
[00:09:56] Figuring out what you want to have accomplished by then and determining the major milestones along the way is a very effective way of planning. Your first year. However, taking that approach is also a very compelling way to frame your answer to the 90 day question. Studies in linguistics show that when you talk first about where you want to end up, listeners perceive you as being more strategic and leaderly than they would if you started with day one.
[00:10:29] Day one is important, of course, and I'm not suggesting that you ignore that, but don't start there when you provide your answer. Instead, say something like, well, as I think about where I want to be at the end of the year in this role, I'd like to be able to make some detailed, actionable recommendations to the management team on longterm ways.
[00:10:54] My division could be adding strategic value. Working back from that, I would need to have explored the following three areas by month nine so that means by month six my team and I would have had to gathered the preliminary analytics, et cetera, et cetera. You get the point, you can fill in this timeline however you want, of course, but just remember that in talking about your roadmap for the first year, started the end and then fill in the timeline by going backwards.
[00:11:28] Tip number four, categorize your first year into phases and give those phases some names. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you're going to hear me repeat certain mantras regularly as well. One of them is this. It's our job as leaders to make it easy for other people to understand us. This is closely related to another well known rule of leadership that you may have already have heard that leaders are supposed to make the complex simple.
[00:12:04] The bottom line in both these cases is that people can't follow you or support your ideas unless they understand you. So going back to your roadmap for your first year in a new role, how can you help people understand you when you're throwing a lot of information their way? You can do that by categorizing your year into a few phases and give those phases names or a short description.
[00:12:34] Here's an example of what one of my recent clients did when she was interviewing for a C-suite position in a new organization. She divided her first year into three phases and described her roadmap as follows. Phase one was a period of deep learning and listening. The day to day work already in progress would of course get done, but her main focus was going to be getting to know all important stakeholders and constituencies, including of course her team, and to develop a preliminary point of view on things like priorities and next steps, culture, personalities, and work styles.
[00:13:21] She called this simply the learning phase, and she told the new organization that she expected it to last three to four months. Phase two was the time period where she would roll out a plan to address some of the priorities and low hanging fruit that she identified during the learning phase. This would mean engaging more deeply with important stakeholders and constituencies.
[00:13:49] She would also be deepening her relationship with her team. Was the division structure and roles optimized for success going forward? What support or leadership development did they need? She called this second phase, the quick wins phase, and she told the new organization that she expected it to last approximately six months.
[00:14:15] Phase three was the period where she and her team would start designing and refining a longer term plan for the division. She intended to run parts of the plan by key stakeholders during this phase to get their insight and input. Finally, she would present the plan to the C E O and the management team to get alignment and approval.
[00:14:39] She called this last phase, the longterm strategy phase, and she told the organization that she expected it to last approximately three months. Now, of course, my client gave even more detail in her answer then I've given you here, but notice what she did. She knew that after a lengthy interview, the questionnaire could easily forget some of the details she provided or even get them confused.
[00:15:08] However, the questioner was highly unlikely to forget the name two phases. The learning phase, the quick wins phase, and the longterm strategy phase. That means her answer was sticky. It was framed in a way that would stick in the minds of other people, and as a result, it could be easily remembered. Her answer provided assurance that she knew where she was going and had a clear strategy to get there.
[00:15:39] So before you get asked the first 90 day question, think about what phases are appropriate for your first year and think about what names you would give them. And finally, tip number five, be sure to specify particular milestones where you'll report back to your boss or to key decision makers. While organizations love organized leaders with a firm sense of direction, they also have been burnt by new leaders who go charging off without having regular checkins with their boss.
[00:16:15] You know that person, right? The one who calls himself that change agent and then Moes everyone else down. Now I know you wouldn't be that person. However, you can pretty much count on that worry being in the back of your questioner's mind. So make a point of explicitly removing that doubt. Indicate key moments in your first year when you plan to check in with your boss on how things are going.
[00:16:42] You'll want to update him or her on your insights and observations. Describe what you intend to do during the next phase of your year and get important feedback and guidance. The purpose of doing this is to ensure you're aligned around important factors like priorities and pace and communication. And by the end of the year, be sure to plan on reporting back to other key decision makers.
[00:17:09] Perhaps your boss's boss or the management team, or even the board. Remember the end of the year is when you'll likely be making recommendations on your longterm strategic plan. So it's going to be important to ensure that all your constituencies are aware of that. And on the same page with you, just spell this all out in your answer.
[00:17:31] And your questionnaire will be impressed with how you're already thinking about how best to communicate and keep aligned with the team. Okay, so there you have it. Five tips that will take your answer to the first 90 day question from acceptable to truly wow worthy. Make it easy for decision makers to understand what value you can deliver.
[00:17:56] And in turn, they'll find it easy to see why you're the right person for the role. All right, my friends, this is Kathy Dockery and I'll see you here next week.
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[00:19:05] That's www. Word's empowered.com until next time, my friends, here's to a week ahead, filled with good work with good colleagues and a few good wins.