The first 90 days.

Today I passed a mile marker in my new adventure. As I walked in the door at the Wards Road Starbucks in Lynchburg, the barista already had my drink ready - iced tall soy chai [hey, I need protein in the morning.]. It struck me - I’m not just visiting here anymore, this is my home! When a Starbucks employee knows me well enough to make my drink without asking, I’ve settled in.

I’m coming up on the 60-day mark on my new job. Lots of great lessons and challenges already. One tool that has been a big help to me in this transition is the book The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. It was suggested to me by my friend and a leadership coach in my life, Mark Cundiff.

It starts with the revelation that companies report most new hires take about 6.2 months to reach the “breakeven point” in their organization. Before that point the new employee is a “consumer” of the organization’s resources - after that point they become a “contributor” to the company’s value. The goal of the book is to help in the transition acceleration, to get new hires to be contributors in the first 90 days.

Several great topics in the book, including:

• making the mental break from your last job to the new one
• accelerating your learning of the new organization
• identifying what type of organization you are now working in
• securing early wins
• negotiating success with your new leader
• building your team
• creating coalitions
• keeping your life and family balanced in the transition

The book helped me think through what my goals should be for the first day on the job, first week, first month, second month, and 90 day point.

I listened to this book on the drive to Lynchburg, then bought the hardcopy to make notes. Great resource if you are heading into a new job.