The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
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- Create Date：2021-04-08 09:54:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael D. Watkins
- ISBN：1422188612
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Summary
Since its original release， The First 90 Days has become the bestselling globally acknowledged bible of leadership and career transitions。 In this updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition， internationally known leadership transition expert Michael D。 Watkins gives you the keys to successfully negotiating your next move—whether you’re onboarding into a new company， being promoted internally， or embarking on an international assignment。
In The First 90 Days， Watkins outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what he calls the "breakeven point" when your organization needs you as much as you need the job。 This new edition includes a substantial new preface by the author on the new definition of a career as a series of transitions; and notes the growing need for effective and repeatable skills for moving through these changes。 As well， updated statistics and new tools make this book more reader-friendly and useful than ever。
As hundreds of thousands of readers already know， The First 90 Days is a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods—whether you are a first-time manager， a mid-career professional on your way up， or a newly minted CEO。
In The First 90 Days， Watkins outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what he calls the "breakeven point" when your organization needs you as much as you need the job。 This new edition includes a substantial new preface by the author on the new definition of a career as a series of transitions; and notes the growing need for effective and repeatable skills for moving through these changes。 As well， updated statistics and new tools make this book more reader-friendly and useful than ever。
As hundreds of thousands of readers already know， The First 90 Days is a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods—whether you are a first-time manager， a mid-career professional on your way up， or a newly minted CEO。
Reviews
Jenna
，
Really good--a little different than I expected but really valuable information for leaders in transition。 Not just to a new job， but also a promotion or inter-company move。
Bryce Bender
，
Very good book， but dense though。 I listened to this book in preparation for new projects at my job， and found it very useful， but think it would be even better in print so I bought the paperback immediately。 This book reads like a text book in some places， and I hope to use the frameworks it puts forth as a path for increased efficacy。
Adam Ashton
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Bit dry， not relevant to me right now， but will 100% revisit before my next career transition - great tool for a very specific situation， one that everyone will go through many times in their life
David Daly
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Really helpful when shifting into a new position
John
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Classic business-minded， leadership-focused， self-help book focused on how to make the most of the start of a new job or opportunity。 There wasn’t anything earth-shattering or some secret to success that isn’t already covered by several other books in the genre or by basic common sense （i。e。 If making personnel changes to your team， do it respectfully and humanely because people are watching how you handle it as a leader。。） Mostly it was full of questions to ask yourself， plans to make， or basic Classic business-minded， leadership-focused， self-help book focused on how to make the most of the start of a new job or opportunity。 There wasn’t anything earth-shattering or some secret to success that isn’t already covered by several other books in the genre or by basic common sense （i。e。 If making personnel changes to your team， do it respectfully and humanely because people are watching how you handle it as a leader。。） Mostly it was full of questions to ask yourself， plans to make， or basic workplace norms to remember before starting in a new role or organization。 Would recommend reading （and don’t feel guilty heavily skimming parts） if you’re in a job transition， otherwise not necessary。 。。。more
Ashlin Abraham
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One study found that on average a leader will have 13。5 major transitions in their career i。e。 promotions， moves between functions， joining a new company， moving to a new geography， etc。 The First 90 Days is a great guide for anyone who is or will be undergoing any of the aforementioned transitions， as smoothly and effectively as possible。 Although published in the early 2000s， the points in the book are still relevant and it is no wonder this book is considered one of the best business books of One study found that on average a leader will have 13。5 major transitions in their career i。e。 promotions， moves between functions， joining a new company， moving to a new geography， etc。 The First 90 Days is a great guide for anyone who is or will be undergoing any of the aforementioned transitions， as smoothly and effectively as possible。 Although published in the early 2000s， the points in the book are still relevant and it is no wonder this book is considered one of the best business books of all time。 。。。more
Nick Quenga
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Well constructed book for leadership transitions。 This will serve to shed light and align conscious effort into my personal transitions （which are frequent in the military）。 Written from a business standpoint， over 80% is applicable to military。 Having a transition plan beyond the "formal turnover process" is essential。 This book pointed out many areas that are easy to improve upon and leverage for quicker integration into new organizations。 The chapters are easy digestible chunks， sequenced in Well constructed book for leadership transitions。 This will serve to shed light and align conscious effort into my personal transitions （which are frequent in the military）。 Written from a business standpoint， over 80% is applicable to military。 Having a transition plan beyond the "formal turnover process" is essential。 This book pointed out many areas that are easy to improve upon and leverage for quicker integration into new organizations。 The chapters are easy digestible chunks， sequenced in a logical manner， and tied together well enough。 Written in the HBR style （chapter summaries at the end， break out boxes for details）， but much more cohesive。 Highly recommended and I plan to give this to my subordinates as they prepare for their next transitions。 。。。more
Emily Herman
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Good as a workbook if you are anticipating a job transition or in a job transition。 Less impactful if you are not in transition， but there are still nuggets of wisdom in looking at different components of a company’s or organization’s ebb and flow。
Luke DaMommio
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I did not feel particularly educated by this book。 I was hoping for a bit more insight as I headed into a new job， but instead found pretty obvious recommendations。 I don't think that speaks to my business acumen， but rather to the simplicity of the book。 Not poorly written， not bad information， just not enough learning for what I was hoping。 I did not feel particularly educated by this book。 I was hoping for a bit more insight as I headed into a new job， but instead found pretty obvious recommendations。 I don't think that speaks to my business acumen， but rather to the simplicity of the book。 Not poorly written， not bad information， just not enough learning for what I was hoping。 。。。more
Eperdu
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This is a very solid book and would be a huge asset for anyone who is transitioning into a new role。 I feel like it's more geared towards new roles rather than promotions within the same company。 That isn't to say that you won't get value if you are getting promoted， as this can help you see different things that you might otherwise take for granted。 But， creating your learning plan from a new company versus an existing one is going to be different。 I am in a transition at my current role and I This is a very solid book and would be a huge asset for anyone who is transitioning into a new role。 I feel like it's more geared towards new roles rather than promotions within the same company。 That isn't to say that you won't get value if you are getting promoted， as this can help you see different things that you might otherwise take for granted。 But， creating your learning plan from a new company versus an existing one is going to be different。 I am in a transition at my current role and I did pick up a fair number of ideas and tips from this but I will have to get this for a reference book too！I picked this up because another author （J。D。 Maier / Agile Results） and blogger that I like has posted some great articles about it and how they continue to use this book when they transition roles。 I feel like this is the kind of book that you buy and keep certain areas marked for review。 It's not a one and done book， IMO。 It's a companion for your career。 。。。more
Librarian Alicia
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This book provided helpful tools and a framework to jump into a new leadership position。 I had a month to prepare for my new management position and this book helped me to make a strategic plan for my first 90 days。 I recommend this for new managers。
Bashayr Alabdullah
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Even I'm not on leader position， I find the book helpful to get ready for the new journey。 The book repeats its words， strategies， instructions。。。etc。！ It can be written in article 10 minutes for reading。 Even I'm not on leader position， I find the book helpful to get ready for the new journey。 The book repeats its words， strategies， instructions。。。etc。！ It can be written in article 10 minutes for reading。 。。。more
Chris
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Has some good information， but is really repetitious。 Overall ThoughtsThis book is a great tool to think about concepts conceptually if you are transitioning into a new role where you are responsible for deliverables， strategy， or lead employees。 The concepts talked through are framed in a way that really conceptualizes them so they're easy to understand， but I feel like this book is super repetitious as it goes on; it easily could have been half as long and just as impactful。 I was a little Has some good information， but is really repetitious。 Overall ThoughtsThis book is a great tool to think about concepts conceptually if you are transitioning into a new role where you are responsible for deliverables， strategy， or lead employees。 The concepts talked through are framed in a way that really conceptualizes them so they're easy to understand， but I feel like this book is super repetitious as it goes on; it easily could have been half as long and just as impactful。 I was a little put-off by how "traditionalist" a lot of the concepts are here。 A lot of companies are trying to work differently， and in today's market -- I don't think some of the examples really apply anymore。 I would hope there are newer， more effective books for this。The book， however， is just a way to look at things differently。 This cannot and should not be used to "help you transition。" Pros1） Has good examples2） Provides a different framework of how to look at things Cons1） I think that some points of this book are。。。 not wrong， but almost misguided。 Every job and every role is different， so it's hard to write a book that fits it all。2） As other reviewers have noted， you may think that the gender presented in the examples is offputting。 Closing ThoughtsI'm glad I read this， and it'll help me look at things differently。 I wouldn't recommend the audiobook version only because none of the graphs or tables are available， at least through the library app I used。 。。。more
James
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Solid examples of what to do and not do。 The examples are consistently followed by abstracted lists of patterns to be aware of。 Useful book。
Frey
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I'm a big fan of books which teach you not what to think， but how to think， and this is one of the best。 I'm a big fan of books which teach you not what to think， but how to think， and this is one of the best。 。。。more
Khalid Hajeri
，
Be more effective in managing and leading in your new professional role！"The First 90 Days" by Michael D。 Watkins is a book that helps readers gain proper strategies in management when they are assigned a new role in an organization。 Whether through promotion or joining a new company， all the essential tips and tricks to better adapt are featured in this business book。The main ideas Mr。 Watkins tells readers in the beginning are to be prepared and open to learning new things。 Since the intended Be more effective in managing and leading in your new professional role！"The First 90 Days" by Michael D。 Watkins is a book that helps readers gain proper strategies in management when they are assigned a new role in an organization。 Whether through promotion or joining a new company， all the essential tips and tricks to better adapt are featured in this business book。The main ideas Mr。 Watkins tells readers in the beginning are to be prepared and open to learning new things。 Since the intended audience of this book are managerial professionals that are expected to join an unfamiliar work environment， it is important to get ready to face challenges in uncharted territory and take in new information and experiences。 Several helpful models are described and graphical representations are shown that serve as great tools to help readers during their transitions to their new roles。Other topics discussed later are negotiation skills and team building。 Once integrated into their roles within the 90-day period outlined in the book， readers will have to deal with several setbacks as well as potential alliances with their new work colleagues。 They will also learn the best ways to blend in with existing organization structures and even make improvements over them when applicable and/or necessary。The downside of the book is the lack of firmer relevant questions to the readers。 At the end of each chapter there are sets of open-ended questions that are directed at the reader in the format of self-help questions。 While it is good to provide flexible questions to readers in case their current roles are diverse， I feel it is better to have questions that are more focused and business oriented。 "The First 90 Days" is a very good book that is recommended to people transitioning to new roles either within or outside their organizations。 It serves as an effective reference guide to be utilized whenever the respective changes take place， and the tables and visual aids add a nice touch to the content。 Read the book and I wish you luck in your new managerial role！ 。。。more
Siobhan
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While this is fundamentally a good book for understanding the framework of organizational leadership at a certain level， it amounts to a bunch of collected worksheets。 The main value for me here was in resetting my own thinking around approach。In a nutshell: if you’re looking for a book to help you begin your leadership journey， this ain’t it。
Jeff Birk
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Skimmed this book more than read word for word。 Excellent guide for those who are transitioning to leadership roles as well as onboarding into a new organization。 The author gives good case studies to start each chapter。 Had I known it was more geared to those who are beginning leadership roles I may have passed on reading it。 Nevertheless， there are some good chapters to which I may refer in the future dealing with negotiation。
Frank Privette
，
This isn’t a bad business book， it’s actually more than passable。 Originally published close to the turn of the century by Michael Watkins （who counts many CPG and Fortune 500 companies， such as J&J， under his belt as manager and/or clients） and reviewed and re-edited in 2013， reading it today in a “post” Covid Work-From-Home world feels like it could do with a major overhaul and re-write。 Most of the author’s points are salient still: leadership doesn’t come from a title; transitioning does not This isn’t a bad business book， it’s actually more than passable。 Originally published close to the turn of the century by Michael Watkins （who counts many CPG and Fortune 500 companies， such as J&J， under his belt as manager and/or clients） and reviewed and re-edited in 2013， reading it today in a “post” Covid Work-From-Home world feels like it could do with a major overhaul and re-write。 Most of the author’s points are salient still: leadership doesn’t come from a title; transitioning does not only occur when a leader comes into a new company; a successful transition is critical to everyone involved as it can derail careers， frustrate teams and cost literally hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars; the organization’s context （Start up， Turnaround， Accelerating Growth; Realignment， Sustaining Success） matters; learning curves include not only business acumen and technical knowledge but also cultural and political sensitivity; planning is everything; a leader must explicitly and deliberately think about her transition。 However， some of the time frames （or time expectations） seem naive in today’s completely digital， “agile，” real-time-everything world。 How feasible is it to negotiate a learning curve in many real-life situations？ Even in 2013， the weight given by Watkins to face to face interactions -in a world so completely interconnected less than ten years ago- would make any executive or manager seasoned in international business blush。 Finally， the author insists that a new leader beginning a role in a new company should plan and act before actually entering the new organization。 This includes meetings with key stakeholders， receiving vital business information， and， strangely， visits （get this） to key plants and manufacturing facilities。 I just don’t see this happening at all， except for perhaps top roles。 But confidential information is confidential information。 Planning a transition before the transition is certainly sound advice。 But there’s only so much a manager can realistically do。As with many “personalized” business books （ie versus case studies or more in-depth analyses such as Good to Great）， the dilemma is how to negotiate the lines between guide-cum-manual， self-help （a genre which this book gratefully does not belong to）， and presentation of quantitative data purporting to prove a method works。 And sell some consulting work while they’re at it。 The First 90 Days does a fair job negotiating this balancing act。The reason I read this book is that I am currently smack in the middle of my first 90 days in a new organization。 I did not expect to be floored by tidal waves of insights。 And even though I did find a couple of actionable ideas， I was both surprised and disappointed when I asked myself “what would I have done differently in previous transitions in my career？” The answer is “very little。” Although maybe it would have perhaps been useful when new bosses were transitioned to me- I recognized more than a few actions which I witnessed on a few manager transitions in the past。 But for me？ Maybe my planning would have been more formal and deliberate。 And perhaps that would’ve changed little of my professional image。 Who knows。 Maybe。 Maybe not。As for the future？ I’m currently about to reach the mid point of my 90-day period。 And am becoming more deliberate。 And more sensible to “soft” factors。 But， again， being productive from week one is an expected （and in my view， reasonable） state in any business today。 The book is worth reading， for sure。 But surely there have to be more update views out there。 。。。more
Tommy Kowalski
，
Great read。 Breaks down the thinking into easy digestible chunks。 Gives a lot of practical examples。 Will continue to reference this。 Perfect timing having started a new job。
Maria
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This book is a good reference manual to have on hand as you make job transitions， especially if you are earlier in career。 I didn't learn anything I didn't know before or super ground breaking but the book organizes the ideas very well and serves as reminders。 I agree with a lot of the points made by the book about setting yourself up for success during a transition。 Wish I read this during my first year working as a new grad。 This book is a good reference manual to have on hand as you make job transitions， especially if you are earlier in career。 I didn't learn anything I didn't know before or super ground breaking but the book organizes the ideas very well and serves as reminders。 I agree with a lot of the points made by the book about setting yourself up for success during a transition。 Wish I read this during my first year working as a new grad。 。。。more
Kristen
，
I read this because it was recommended to my husband。。。 he won't ever read it， so I do and hive him the chapter overviews。This book not only applies to the first 90 days of your new job/ career change， but to anytime a change takes place around you-- a new boss， a new department or organization structure， a friend's promotion， etc。 How you approach each transition greatly impacts your perceived contribution to the company。 Although I don't work in the traditional sense， I still found value on ho I read this because it was recommended to my husband。。。 he won't ever read it， so I do and hive him the chapter overviews。This book not only applies to the first 90 days of your new job/ career change， but to anytime a change takes place around you-- a new boss， a new department or organization structure， a friend's promotion， etc。 How you approach each transition greatly impacts your perceived contribution to the company。 Although I don't work in the traditional sense， I still found value on how to work with my neighbors and our local church organization。 。。。more
Walid ALJARBOU
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Contains many practical steps。
Mish
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A good book for new leaders or leaders in a new organization m。 Started to feel a little redundant toward the end but some good takeaways。
Madison Aldrich
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Despite what the description suggests， 90% of this book is only applicable to high level managers and department leads。
Anja Beth
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It was okay - definitely targeted more at exec leader types。 I got it because I'm going through a forced team transition at work （same team， new project and coworkers） and thought it might have some useful advice。 I did get a few things out of it， like the importance of reaching out and building relationships with new coworkers， and some interesting questions to ask them about the new domain， but overall I think I'm not the target audience。 Even if I was the target audience， it's a little light It was okay - definitely targeted more at exec leader types。 I got it because I'm going through a forced team transition at work （same team， new project and coworkers） and thought it might have some useful advice。 I did get a few things out of it， like the importance of reaching out and building relationships with new coworkers， and some interesting questions to ask them about the new domain， but overall I think I'm not the target audience。 Even if I was the target audience， it's a little light on concrete examples and heavy on the business-speak， but maybe I just don't live in the business world a lot :） 。。。more
Matt Witten
，
I appreciated this book for its simplicity。 It didn’t seem overdone， was fairly straightforward， and provided some solid tactics and actions to help with transitional phases。 I don’t think you’ll find anything groundbreaking （and if you’ve held management or leadership positions a lot of it will be things you already have done）， but I do think it can function as a great “workbook” to help you systematize， track， and organize your thoughts and actions。
Şahabettin A。
，
Çok faydalı önerilerde bulunuyor， fakat önerdiği kuramlar kamu kurumları için pek geçerli değil。
Vivek Raj
，
It’s a book that addresses in great detail about transitioning into a new company in a rather matter of fact tone。 Maybe HBR press could look at diving deeper into serious subjects with a tinge of humour/ personal anecdotes to put joy back in the reading ritual。 Just when I was skimming the surface on the following topics: transitioning， setting goals for yourself and adapting to the new environment， I was awe struck by the granularity and finer points the author brings to light in an otherwise It’s a book that addresses in great detail about transitioning into a new company in a rather matter of fact tone。 Maybe HBR press could look at diving deeper into serious subjects with a tinge of humour/ personal anecdotes to put joy back in the reading ritual。 Just when I was skimming the surface on the following topics: transitioning， setting goals for yourself and adapting to the new environment， I was awe struck by the granularity and finer points the author brings to light in an otherwise obvious larger theme: transitioning into the new role。 The chapter on adapting yourself to the new boss was an eye opener at a personal level。 It dawned on me how naive I was to think all I had to do to be successful in a new job is to work hard， learn about new developments in the industry and rely only on myself。 Thanks to this book for breaking that bubble。 。。。more
Tee Kay
，