Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

DELOITTE INSIGHTS

  • Home
  • Spotlight
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Future of Sports
    • Technology Management
    • Growth & Competitive Advantage
  • Topics
    • Economics
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • Operations
    • Strategy
    • Technology
    • Workforce
    • Industries
  • More
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts

DELOITTE RESEARCH CENTERS

  • Cross-Industry
    • Home
    • Workforce Trends
    • Enterprise Growth & Innovation
    • Technology & Transformation
    • Environmental & Social Issues
  • Economics
    • Home
    • Consumer Spending
    • Housing
    • Business Investment
    • Globalization & International Trade
    • Fiscal & Monetary Policy
    • Sustainability, Equity & Climate
    • Labor Markets
    • Prices & Inflation
  • Consumer
    • Home
    • Automotive
    • Consumer Products
    • Food
    • Retail, Wholesale & Distribution
    • Hospitality
    • Airlines & Transportation
  • Energy & Industrials
    • Home
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Chemicals & Specialty Materials
    • Engineering & Construction
    • Mining & Metals
    • Oil & Gas
    • Power & Utilities
    • Renewable Energy
  • Financial Services
    • Home
    • Banking & Capital Markets
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Insurance
    • Investment Management
    • Cross Financial Services
  • Government & Public Services
    • Home
    • Defense, Security & Justice
    • Government Health
    • State & Local Government
    • Whole of Government
    • Transportation & Infrastructure
    • Human Services
    • Higher Education
  • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Home
    • Hospitals, Health Systems & Providers​
    • Pharmaceutical Manufacturers​
    • Health Plans & Payers​
    • Medtech & Health Tech Organizations
  • Tech, Media & Telecom
    • Home
    • Technology
    • Media & Entertainment
    • Telecommunications
    • Semiconductor
    • Sports
Deloitte.com
Deloitte Insights logo
  • SPOTLIGHT
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Future of Sports
    • Technology Management
    • Growth & Competitive Advantage
  • TOPICS
    • Economics
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • Operations
    • Strategy
    • Technology
    • Workforce
    • Industries
  • MORE
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
    • Research Centers
  • Welcome!

    For personalized content and settings, go to your My Deloitte Dashboard

    Latest Insights

    Creating opportunity at the intersection of climate disruption and regulatory change

    Article
     • 
    7-min read

    Better questions about generative AI

    Article
     • 
    2-min read

    Recommendations

    Tech Trends 2025

    Article

    TMT Predictions 2025

    Article

    About Deloitte Insights

    About Deloitte Insights

    Deloitte Insights Magazine, issue 33

    Magazine

    Topics for you

    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Leadership
    • Operations
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Economy

    Watch & Listen

    Dbriefs

    Stay informed on the issues impacting your business with Deloitte's live webcast series. Gain valuable insights and practical knowledge from our specialists while earning CPE credits.

    Deloitte Insights Podcasts

    Join host Tanya Ott as she interviews influential voices discussing the business trends and challenges that matter most to your business today. 

    Subscribe

    Deloitte Insights Newsletters

    Looking to stay on top of the latest news and trends? With MyDeloitte you'll never miss out on the information you need to lead. Simply link your email or social profile and select the newsletters and alerts that matter most to you.

Welcome back

To join via SSO please click on the key button below
Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

The myth of 'the first 90 days'

by
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
01 May 2014

The myth of 'the first 90 days'

02 May 2014
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email

Best-selling business books are placing perilous time constraints on newly minted members of a C-suite, but there’s good news for executives: these timeframes are merely a best-selling myth.

There is a potentially dangerous assumption that’s being propagated by popular business tomes. From The First 90 Days to the slightly more generous The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan, best-selling business books are placing perilous time constraints on newly minted members of a C-suite. But there’s good news for executives who find themselves taking the reins: These time constraints are merely a best-selling myth.

Our research on executive transitions across multiple C-level roles shows that many executives actually frame their initial plans and establish themselves around a longer period of time. We first knew something was amiss four years ago, when a study of CFO transitions overwhelmingly found that they typically plan around a six-month period to establish themselves in their roles. Between June 2010 and May 2014, Deloitte has helped over 500 CFOs, CIOs, CHROs, C(Tax)Os, and business school deans frame their transition plans in our Executive Transition Labs—a one-day, personalized workshop where incoming executives establish their priorities, design their organizations, define relationship strategies, and create a tangible action plan to execute their agendas. What our Labs reinforce is that while the first 90 days are important and busy, generally, it is far better for executives to use a six-month planning horizon to realistically implement an effective transition. And even this can be an ambitious timeframe.

So why give yourself six months? First and foremost, this is generally the minimum time it takes to critically assess your team and, as needed, restructure it with new hires. The higher you go, the more you accomplish through others on your team. Having a strong team of direct reports with effective organizations beneath them is vital to your effectiveness. It takes time to assess direct reports, hold skip-level meetings, recruit new staff, and restructure an organization amid ongoing projects. Second, in large, complex organizations, it takes time to take stock of how the business really operates. If you are recruited from outside the industry, it takes time to learn the specific nuances of different product divisions and their markets. Third, senior executives are recruited to produce significant results. Thus, generating meaningful and recognizable wins in the first 90 days is not easy, but it is much more reasonable to garner tangible accomplishments—in addition to resetting your organization—in six months. For example, we have seen CFOs undertake myriad initiatives such as currency hedging or a specific tax strategy to generate distinctive early wins, but even the best-laid plans are only rarely realized in their first 90 days.

So how should you use your first six months in an executive role? The guide below gives a simplified structure that I will expand on in future posts.

0–30 days: First, connect with your important stakeholders, direct reports, and perhaps one level down to establish hypotheses about critical issues needing attention, staff capabilities, and how to operate in your organization. This is a period of listening and connecting to stakeholders and absorbing critical information from your organization. We usually require our lab participants to marinate at least 30 days in their new role.

30–90 days: Keep connecting with stakeholders, and define an initial set of signature priorities for your team to address. Build an initial go plan to socialize with stakeholders—ideally by the end of 90 days. Where you are uncertain about the capabilities of specific staff, you can frame particular assignments to clarify their capabilities. These assignments are ideally completed or have clear milestones within the next 45–60 days, which enables you to assess individuals’ capabilities. Ideally, by the end of 90 days, you are ready to frame and execute your organizational model, including deciding the roles into which you need to hire new staff. Third, if there is a burning platform issue or inherited train wrecks, take some concrete steps to diagnose and frame the issues, and establish stakeholder consensus to set them on a corrective path. Fourth, it is good to use this honeymoon period to also decide what initiatives need to be “killed” or deferred to free resources for more important priorities.

 90–180 days: Ideally, start delivering a new organizational model, and recruit staff to supplement your team as needed. Garner substantial progress on at least one signature initiative. Establish a communications strategy that reinforces the culture you desire within your organization, and effectively communicate your team’s priorities and accomplishments to stakeholders.

 Takeaway: Dispense with the myth of the first 90 or 100 days, and get realistic. After helping 500 executives and interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, we know that CEOs, boards, and peer executives recognize that it takes time to assemble a team and establish a foundation for sustained results. Give yourself the gift of time in your next transition.

Credits

Written by:

Topics in this article

Deloitte Consulting

Learn more
Download Subscribe

Related

img Trending

Interactive 3 days ago

Share article highlights

See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy your highlighted text.

The myth of 'the first 90 days' has been saved

The myth of 'the first 90 days' has been removed

An Article Titled The myth of 'the first 90 days' already exists in Saved items

Invalid special characters found 
Forgot password

To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

OR

Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

Connect Accounts

Connect your social accounts

This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

Log in with an existing social network:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

OR

Log in with an existing site account:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

Forgot password

Subscribe

to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
✓ Link copied to clipboard

Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

Deloitte Insights

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Industries
  • About Deloitte Insights

DELOITTE RESEARCH CENTERS

  • Cross-Industry
  • Economics
  • Consumer
  • Energy & Industrials
  • Financial Services
  • Government & Public Services
  • Life Sciences & Health Care
  • Tech, Media & Telecom
Deloitte logo

Learn about Deloitte’s offerings, people, and culture as a global provider of audit, assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services.

© 2025. See Terms of Use for more information.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

  • About Deloitte
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Data Privacy Framework
  • Cookies
  • Cookie Settings
  • Legal Information for Job Seekers
  • Labor Condition Applications
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information