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The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results
Entering a new leadership role? Leading a reorganization or integrating teams?
Get better results faster by building and implementing your 100-Day Action Plan.
Your first 100 days in a new leadership position are critical, as they set the foundation for your team's success going forward. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan helps you start gaining traction even before your first day in a new job. The playbook gives you a concrete strategy for getting a fast start - engaging the culture, setting direction, aligning the team, avoiding common missteps, and delivering results. This new fourth edition has been updated with new graphics and tools and expanded with new information learned from real-world clients over the past 12 years.
Many organizations, regardless of size, industry, or geography, realize that it is strategically imperative to effectively onboard leaders into new roles and combine teams during M&A and reorganization. New thinking for new teams provides ways to get quick results with key business initiatives and new discussions on cultural fit and evolution to help you better contribute to your organization's success. Updated stories and case studies provide real-life glimpses at how successful leaders navigate tricky situations, and extensive online tools point you toward additional resources as the need arises.
Forty percent of new leaders fail within the first 18 months on the job. When a new leader drops the ball, it's at the expense of the team, the organization, and the leader's track record. Successful leaders start leading and delivering immediately. This book shows you how to start getting results right away and dramatically increase your chances for success - by systematically shaping your leadership with intent.
Take control from the start
Expect the surprises and avoid the mistakes
Manage your message and shape culture
Set direction and build an aligned leadership team
Fuel momentum and deliver results
Your new leadership role begins the moment you accept the offer, the deal is done, or the reorganization is announced. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan gives you a concrete framework for successful leadership and a clear road map to the critical first 100 days.
Get better results faster by building and implementing your 100-Day Action Plan.
Your first 100 days in a new leadership position are critical, as they set the foundation for your team's success going forward. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan helps you start gaining traction even before your first day in a new job. The playbook gives you a concrete strategy for getting a fast start - engaging the culture, setting direction, aligning the team, avoiding common missteps, and delivering results. This new fourth edition has been updated with new graphics and tools and expanded with new information learned from real-world clients over the past 12 years.
Many organizations, regardless of size, industry, or geography, realize that it is strategically imperative to effectively onboard leaders into new roles and combine teams during M&A and reorganization. New thinking for new teams provides ways to get quick results with key business initiatives and new discussions on cultural fit and evolution to help you better contribute to your organization's success. Updated stories and case studies provide real-life glimpses at how successful leaders navigate tricky situations, and extensive online tools point you toward additional resources as the need arises.
Forty percent of new leaders fail within the first 18 months on the job. When a new leader drops the ball, it's at the expense of the team, the organization, and the leader's track record. Successful leaders start leading and delivering immediately. This book shows you how to start getting results right away and dramatically increase your chances for success - by systematically shaping your leadership with intent.
Take control from the start
Expect the surprises and avoid the mistakes
Manage your message and shape culture
Set direction and build an aligned leadership team
Fuel momentum and deliver results
Your new leadership role begins the moment you accept the offer, the deal is done, or the reorganization is announced. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan gives you a concrete framework for successful leadership and a clear road map to the critical first 100 days.
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First published April 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 15, 2013
This book is pretty much just as the title says. It's a self-onboarding guide for people moving into a new leadership position. At this, I felt it was both too detailed and not detailed enough.
It was too detailed in that there were many detailed plans that seemed like they may fit certain situations, but definitely not others. It was not detailed enough in that many steps in the plans were distressingly high level.
A couple of minor gripes: this falls into the category of business books that comes up with an acronym for everything: P3 = People-Plans-Practices. 5Cs = Customers, Collaborators, Capabilities, Competitors, Conditions. BRAVE = Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values and Environment. ADEPT = Acquiring Developing, Encouraging, Planning and Transitioning. And so on.
Also, the book really seems aimed at new hires. There is an appendix about promotions and lateral moves within the same company, but the book gives short shrift to items like overlap with the current manager, solving pre-existing trouble, or overcoming your past history. (It touches on some of them, but very superficially.)
Overall, there was some good info here, especially the bit about how there are really only three interview questions*, but I felt that this book was aimed much more at newly hired executives and not as much at promoted mid-level managers (which is what I was hoping for). Might be good for you, less so for me.
It was too detailed in that there were many detailed plans that seemed like they may fit certain situations, but definitely not others. It was not detailed enough in that many steps in the plans were distressingly high level.
A couple of minor gripes: this falls into the category of business books that comes up with an acronym for everything: P3 = People-Plans-Practices. 5Cs = Customers, Collaborators, Capabilities, Competitors, Conditions. BRAVE = Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values and Environment. ADEPT = Acquiring Developing, Encouraging, Planning and Transitioning. And so on.
Also, the book really seems aimed at new hires. There is an appendix about promotions and lateral moves within the same company, but the book gives short shrift to items like overlap with the current manager, solving pre-existing trouble, or overcoming your past history. (It touches on some of them, but very superficially.)
Overall, there was some good info here, especially the bit about how there are really only three interview questions*, but I felt that this book was aimed much more at newly hired executives and not as much at promoted mid-level managers (which is what I was hoping for). Might be good for you, less so for me.
December 24, 2017
Great toolbox for a new leader.
January 30, 2021
Practical tips for anyone entering into a new leadership role within or outside the current organization. Good read!
June 8, 2025
Very thorough overview of first 100 days. Could be condensed down for middle leadership and small team leadership roles also. Nice tools too.
April 8, 2021
All leaders, not only new leaders, should read this book. The firm PrimeGenesis, that invented the 100-day action plan approach, claims to have reduced the failure rate for new leaders from the industry average of 40% to less than 5%. This book is an excellent resource for every leader regardless of what stage they are in. The executive summary at the front of the book provides enough material to be very helpful in and of itself. This book is filled with a plethora of tools and templates for one to use. www.onboardingtools.com
An organization’s or team’s performance is based on aligning its people, plans, and practices around a shared purpose. This involves getting strong people in the right roles with the right support, clarity around the strategies and action steps included in plans, and practices in place that enable people to work together in a systematic and effective way. The heart of this is a clearly understood, meaningful, and rewarding shared purpose.
It’s a new leader’s job to orchestrate the alignment of people, plans, and practices around a shared purpose and then build tactical capacity to ensure excellent execution. You must help keep people co-create a Burning Imperative and deliver against it with a great sense of urgency.
Talk as little as possible and listen as attentively as possible. It is not the time to tell your life story or to offer opinions on how things should be done. Ask people what strengths and capabilities are required for success versus their perceptions of what is in place now. Drop any reference to your former organization and switch to we conversations about your new organization immediately. Identify any untouchables early and let them be – at least at first.
Look to understand the control points (what things are measured, tracked, and reported and how), how decisions are made (Who makes what decisions with whose input), and the best way to communicate with people.
Different people prefer being disagreed with in different ways. Ask about this, but don’t believe the initial answers you get. Initially, start at the top of the list, and wait to see how your key stakeholders (especially your boss) respond to disagreements and challenges from others before you start disagreeing with them or challenging them.
Focus early on learning the 5Cs – customers, collaborators, capabilities, competitors, and conditions. Being perceived as wanting to learn is almost as important as learning itself. Don’t come in with all the answers. As Socrates stated, “Wisdom begins in wonder.”
Culture, the glue that holds organizations together, may be the only truly sustainable competitive advantage and the root cause of every merger’s success or failure. Many times too little effort is paid to culture during integrations. Culture is critical, and leadership matters. You begin to establish your leadership and transform the culture by your questions, your active listening, and your behaviors, not by what you say. In many respects, leadership is an exercise in building culture. Culture change is about bridging the gap between the current state and the desired state. Some defined culture as “the way we do things around here.“ Culture can be defined by the acronym BRAVE: Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values, and the Environment. Determine your leadership approach and how to best engage with the existing culture by assimilating, converging and evolving, or shocking the organization (ACES).
Identify key stakeholders - up, across, and down. In general, start by increasing the commitment level of your contributors. Then move the convincible watchers into contributors. And get the detractors out of the way.
“Everything you do communicates.”
Crafting and deploying your message has to do with the words you use (and don’t) and the actions you take (and don’t). Establish your platform for change (why), your vision or picture of a brighter future (what), and your call to action (how).
As a leader, you impact people’s lives. These people will try hard to figure you out and determine your potential impact as soon as they can. They may even rush to judgment. Order counts - Be circumspect about the order in which you meet with people and the timing of when you do throughout your first several days. Messages matter - Have a bias towards listening. When you speak, keep it brief, on point, and meaningful.
According to Allen Schoer, founder and chairman of the TAI Group, a leadership consultancy, “Stories yield narrative. Narrative yields meaning. Meaning yields alignment. Alignment yields performance.”
Know your message. Live your message. Repeat the message. You’ll get bored of your own message well before the critical masses have internalized it. Keep your energy and excitement level high regarding the message. “Be. Do. Say. Communicate the message in what you say. Communicate it in what you do. Make it your own.”
Creating the Burning Imperative is getting people aligned around a vision and values and focused on urgent business matters. The shared purpose drives the long term while your Burning Imperative drives the next phase of activity, now, on the way to the long term. There are risks of picking the wrong Burning Imperative but today it is better to get moving and adapt as appropriate. You and your core team need to invest time and work into conceiving, shaping, articulating, and communicating each element and then helping translate them into a unified Burning Imperative that works as a headline for the entire plan and that focuses individuals on their particular roles and responsibilities. In most cases the best approach is co-creating. The process alone is the strongest antidote to silos, confusion, and indifference. A workshop should last between 2-3 days and be comprised of 5-9 people.
To drive operational accountability it’s imperative to clarify decision rights and information flows to inspire and enable others to do their absolute best, together. Early wins (pages 130-135) are all about credibility and confidence. Each milestone (checkpoints along the way to achieving objectives and goals) should be assigned one “captain” as there needs to be a single point of accountability. The 5-step process for managing milestone updates (starting on page 126) is a wonderful template for running effective meetings.
“There is no single way to impact culture more quickly than changes to the organization...Personnel moves spark emotions, fears, and egos, so you need to be thoughtful about who, what, and especially when you move people. Recognize that moving people should actually be seen as your most potent communication tool.“ Asking people what the least favorite part of their job is and making slight changes in roles can have a dramatic impact on performance, levels of engagement, and satisfaction. To accelerate both short- and long-term team development, think in terms of Acquiring, Developing, Encouraging, Planning, and Transitioning talent - ADEPT (Page 150). The performance measure versus role match measure matrix is helpful in determining whether individuals fit within their role. Note: Role match gets at the current position. Potential gets at future promotions. Talents are the recurring pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that can be productively applied. Fit refers to the match between the person’s character and the culture he and she will be operating in. Do the person’s behaviors, way of relating to others, attitudes, values, and preferred working environment fit well with those of the organization, the team, and the leader?
An organization’s or team’s performance is based on aligning its people, plans, and practices around a shared purpose. This involves getting strong people in the right roles with the right support, clarity around the strategies and action steps included in plans, and practices in place that enable people to work together in a systematic and effective way. The heart of this is a clearly understood, meaningful, and rewarding shared purpose.
It’s a new leader’s job to orchestrate the alignment of people, plans, and practices around a shared purpose and then build tactical capacity to ensure excellent execution. You must help keep people co-create a Burning Imperative and deliver against it with a great sense of urgency.
Talk as little as possible and listen as attentively as possible. It is not the time to tell your life story or to offer opinions on how things should be done. Ask people what strengths and capabilities are required for success versus their perceptions of what is in place now. Drop any reference to your former organization and switch to we conversations about your new organization immediately. Identify any untouchables early and let them be – at least at first.
Look to understand the control points (what things are measured, tracked, and reported and how), how decisions are made (Who makes what decisions with whose input), and the best way to communicate with people.
Different people prefer being disagreed with in different ways. Ask about this, but don’t believe the initial answers you get. Initially, start at the top of the list, and wait to see how your key stakeholders (especially your boss) respond to disagreements and challenges from others before you start disagreeing with them or challenging them.
Focus early on learning the 5Cs – customers, collaborators, capabilities, competitors, and conditions. Being perceived as wanting to learn is almost as important as learning itself. Don’t come in with all the answers. As Socrates stated, “Wisdom begins in wonder.”
Culture, the glue that holds organizations together, may be the only truly sustainable competitive advantage and the root cause of every merger’s success or failure. Many times too little effort is paid to culture during integrations. Culture is critical, and leadership matters. You begin to establish your leadership and transform the culture by your questions, your active listening, and your behaviors, not by what you say. In many respects, leadership is an exercise in building culture. Culture change is about bridging the gap between the current state and the desired state. Some defined culture as “the way we do things around here.“ Culture can be defined by the acronym BRAVE: Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values, and the Environment. Determine your leadership approach and how to best engage with the existing culture by assimilating, converging and evolving, or shocking the organization (ACES).
Identify key stakeholders - up, across, and down. In general, start by increasing the commitment level of your contributors. Then move the convincible watchers into contributors. And get the detractors out of the way.
“Everything you do communicates.”
Crafting and deploying your message has to do with the words you use (and don’t) and the actions you take (and don’t). Establish your platform for change (why), your vision or picture of a brighter future (what), and your call to action (how).
As a leader, you impact people’s lives. These people will try hard to figure you out and determine your potential impact as soon as they can. They may even rush to judgment. Order counts - Be circumspect about the order in which you meet with people and the timing of when you do throughout your first several days. Messages matter - Have a bias towards listening. When you speak, keep it brief, on point, and meaningful.
According to Allen Schoer, founder and chairman of the TAI Group, a leadership consultancy, “Stories yield narrative. Narrative yields meaning. Meaning yields alignment. Alignment yields performance.”
Know your message. Live your message. Repeat the message. You’ll get bored of your own message well before the critical masses have internalized it. Keep your energy and excitement level high regarding the message. “Be. Do. Say. Communicate the message in what you say. Communicate it in what you do. Make it your own.”
Creating the Burning Imperative is getting people aligned around a vision and values and focused on urgent business matters. The shared purpose drives the long term while your Burning Imperative drives the next phase of activity, now, on the way to the long term. There are risks of picking the wrong Burning Imperative but today it is better to get moving and adapt as appropriate. You and your core team need to invest time and work into conceiving, shaping, articulating, and communicating each element and then helping translate them into a unified Burning Imperative that works as a headline for the entire plan and that focuses individuals on their particular roles and responsibilities. In most cases the best approach is co-creating. The process alone is the strongest antidote to silos, confusion, and indifference. A workshop should last between 2-3 days and be comprised of 5-9 people.
To drive operational accountability it’s imperative to clarify decision rights and information flows to inspire and enable others to do their absolute best, together. Early wins (pages 130-135) are all about credibility and confidence. Each milestone (checkpoints along the way to achieving objectives and goals) should be assigned one “captain” as there needs to be a single point of accountability. The 5-step process for managing milestone updates (starting on page 126) is a wonderful template for running effective meetings.
“There is no single way to impact culture more quickly than changes to the organization...Personnel moves spark emotions, fears, and egos, so you need to be thoughtful about who, what, and especially when you move people. Recognize that moving people should actually be seen as your most potent communication tool.“ Asking people what the least favorite part of their job is and making slight changes in roles can have a dramatic impact on performance, levels of engagement, and satisfaction. To accelerate both short- and long-term team development, think in terms of Acquiring, Developing, Encouraging, Planning, and Transitioning talent - ADEPT (Page 150). The performance measure versus role match measure matrix is helpful in determining whether individuals fit within their role. Note: Role match gets at the current position. Potential gets at future promotions. Talents are the recurring pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that can be productively applied. Fit refers to the match between the person’s character and the culture he and she will be operating in. Do the person’s behaviors, way of relating to others, attitudes, values, and preferred working environment fit well with those of the organization, the team, and the leader?
May 7, 2014
Over the years I have always been a fan of re-reading certain books when I transitioned roles. My favourite has always been The First 90 Days by Watkins as well as HBRs On Managing Yourself - specifically the Primal Leadership article which is a great reminder of the dangers of the pace-setter approach to leadership while under pressure.
I finally read this book and will now add it to my "Re-read when changing roles" list. Filled with a common sense approach, if you couple it with the learnings of The First 90 Days you cannot help but enter a new role well prepared and ready to adapt.
A must read for anyone leader taking on a new role. For me, a must re-read and one that will sit on my shelf as a reference book for the future.
I finally read this book and will now add it to my "Re-read when changing roles" list. Filled with a common sense approach, if you couple it with the learnings of The First 90 Days you cannot help but enter a new role well prepared and ready to adapt.
A must read for anyone leader taking on a new role. For me, a must re-read and one that will sit on my shelf as a reference book for the future.
December 27, 2012
I actually bought this book prior to starting a new senior level leadership role and found it to be extremely helpful. The advice is very practical and I found that sticking to the recommendations made my first 100 days very successful. I would recommend this, with the caveat that if you are starting a new leadership position, particularly large organization/senior level, that you finish reading it well before you start, even before you interview.
November 7, 2017
So after my first pass through this book it is to be determined how useful a resource this is truly going to be. My intent was to go through it on audio the first time and then go back and revisit it using the tools described with a more complete understanding. I will revisit this review at that time to see if subsequent readings, and using the tools that they have available make this an even richer experience.
May 2, 2020
Very weak book. The only positive I can offer is that it will only consume 20 minutes of your time. The one piece of advice offered here is to learn as much as possible about the position and walk in prepared on day one. The rest of the book is filler.
March 30, 2013
A should-read book new managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
May 12, 2019
Overall, I thought it was an interesting read.
From understanding the BRAVE (Behaviours, Relationships, Attitude, Values, Environment) of the new organization, to key points to look for in the first day. It had a step by step, along with some formats to consider.
Some key takeaways for me:
1) Context and culture... what needs to change and how is the culture ready for a change (2x2 matrix)
2) Understanding organizational history.... very important. Although things may not seem ideal from my fresh viewpoint, there could be a lot of effort and activity to get to where it is today. Be very observant and do not judge in the initial stages... ask lots of questions
3) SWOT through questions to understand the current situation... keeping in mind priorities
4) Putting milestones in place.. work towards it.... initially get some early wins and don't wait too long to build momentum.
5) Over invest in early wins.
From understanding the BRAVE (Behaviours, Relationships, Attitude, Values, Environment) of the new organization, to key points to look for in the first day. It had a step by step, along with some formats to consider.
Some key takeaways for me:
1) Context and culture... what needs to change and how is the culture ready for a change (2x2 matrix)
2) Understanding organizational history.... very important. Although things may not seem ideal from my fresh viewpoint, there could be a lot of effort and activity to get to where it is today. Be very observant and do not judge in the initial stages... ask lots of questions
3) SWOT through questions to understand the current situation... keeping in mind priorities
4) Putting milestones in place.. work towards it.... initially get some early wins and don't wait too long to build momentum.
5) Over invest in early wins.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2017
Great book for new leader's or already experienced leaders that need a refresh as they start a new position. I read this book, as I start each new position to remind me of key strategic areas and focuses to have with my new role. Lays out a plan for first 30 days, 45, 100 days, etc. to walk you through the process. I use many of the suggestions to help with fuzzy front end start time and throughout the first 100 days. Worth the read and happy I was given this book 10+ years ago by a recruiter as I started my first leadership role.
December 10, 2018
Must read for all leads who need to manage a "Team".
This book does not take "Personality development" approach with emotional quotient in it, instead takes practical approach which deals with
- how to plan
- Self learning
- information gathering ,
- prioritizing
- How to foresee risks and mitigation plan
- Importance of proactiveness etc..
Lessons are very simple crisp, with point wise listing of information.
This book does not take "Personality development" approach with emotional quotient in it, instead takes practical approach which deals with
- how to plan
- Self learning
- information gathering ,
- prioritizing
- How to foresee risks and mitigation plan
- Importance of proactiveness etc..
Lessons are very simple crisp, with point wise listing of information.
December 31, 2016
Great tool for new leaders. It gets into every detail you will need for your new position. I would recommend getting when you start your job hunt- it gives good insight to interviews and understanding of the company you want to work for.
September 9, 2020
An okay book and probably worth reading for anyone stepping into a new leadership role. Although it seemed mostly useful for upper management so it would be better served for those stepping into middle management as that is where most new leaders start.
December 31, 2021
Pretty good. However, one of the reoccurring questions that popped into my head when I was reading this was, "Is this actually universally applicable advice, or is this just the authors' personal preferences?"
December 6, 2019
An excellent business book, recently updated. Very consumable and applicable to starting off on the right foot as a leader - lots of great advice I wish I knew before!
November 20, 2020
was given to me by my new job
read this BEFORE you start the new job
read this BEFORE you start the new job
May 19, 2021
A true gem book for new leader
August 13, 2021
Really well done. Easy to follow. Tons of additional resources to help generate a successful first 100 days in your new role.
February 13, 2022
As a new leader, I found this book really helpful. It's filled with actionable items that I had not really thought about and provides templates to help get one on their feet.
February 16, 2022
This book laid out specific, actionable plans backed up by worksheets to walk you through implementing your ideas for your new role and organization.
May 16, 2022
This is a generally good introduction to a leader's first 100 days but it is not as accessible or helpful as the First 90 Days.
September 28, 2023
Some useful suggestions, some filler, and maybe a little too long setting up the pre-day 1 information. Nothing you couldn't figure out or get in a classroom, but worth a look.
August 6, 2025
Vertical start
December 5, 2023
Got this book as part of a book study group at a job several years ago, didn't read it then. It became very timely as I took a new senior leadership role at a new company at the end of 2023.
Nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking. Just a very useful framework to think about how to navigate the first 100 days in a new job to maximize chances for success. Several ideas and points that resonated with me.
1. Have a crystal clear "entry message" and being single minded in its communication
2. Establish a "burning imperative" within first 30 days.
3. Understanding almost everyone's only real question is "what does this mean for me?"
Nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking. Just a very useful framework to think about how to navigate the first 100 days in a new job to maximize chances for success. Several ideas and points that resonated with me.
1. Have a crystal clear "entry message" and being single minded in its communication
2. Establish a "burning imperative" within first 30 days.
3. Understanding almost everyone's only real question is "what does this mean for me?"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2013
As part of new job I took, this book was on the reading list. New Leader’s 100-day Action Plan by Bradts, Check & Pedraza wrote this guide to assist executives in their transition into their new leadership role. They introduce the reader to a new lens that looks at their strengths and their challenges. They go a step further and provide case studies and advice as well as sample planning tools. The culminating activity that the reader walks away with is a 100-day Action Plan. In some circles this is referred to as an Entry Plan. This tool allows the reader to set goals, monitor implementation and then the reader can use it in their reflection and self-monitoring of their personal growth.
March 10, 2013
Fantastic book on the most important actions to take as a leader in a new job. Read this before starting your new job, or you'll regret some of the things you'll realise you could have done to improve your position. The book marks the the big winners that often people don't do, like meeting with the key stakeholders before your official first day.
Just the approach to weekly staff meetings alone is worth reading the book for. I can't wait to implement in my company.
A must read for all executives.
Just the approach to weekly staff meetings alone is worth reading the book for. I can't wait to implement in my company.
A must read for all executives.
March 4, 2016
There are some great ideas and thoughts in this book. I am happy to have read it. It was light on preparation ideas. How does one research and plan, and I thought it was long on the actual implementation or execution. The Book had good information about communications. I liked the information even though one could argue that its old information that was covered better someplace else. I would argue that good ideas are worth repeating, and this is the right place to express those ideas.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews