Sunday, July 27, 2008

The First 90 Days follow up

I just wanted to follow up on the previous post. I was discussing this topic with one of my marketing friends and the resulting conversation left me thinking that I might have been a bit unclear on my take on the whole 90-day plan. Put simply, these are good things to review, great things to understand, but for the most part, this isn't a formula. These are guidelines and strategies for functioning in dynamic situations. It's my believe that, most of the time, if you're following a hard-and-fast plan, you've already made decisions and judgements that aren't going to map well to the dynamics of a specific situation.

Good managers have an ability to anticipate problems so that they can plan and avoid them. Better managers can adapt and overcome problems -- be they anticipated or not -- and be successful.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is definitely worth a read for anyone who is starting a new job. I recommended this to a friend of mine who was looking for a new job. During one of his final interviews, his prospective employers asked what his 90 day plan was. He was shocked at first and then he pretty much gave seven out of the ten steps that Watkins mentions in his book. The result: He got the job! Were his answers exactly what they were looking for? Not necessarily, but he did show them that he understood the importance of having a strategy coming into a new managerial position.