When you start a new job, you are in a “temporary state of incompetence,” faced with having to do the most when you know the least. Tom Neff and Jim Citrin, two of the world’s experts on leadership and career achievement, know what it takes to succeed in a new position. Through compelling, first-hand stories, from CEOs like Jeffrey Immelt of GE and Bob Eckert of Mattel, You’re in Charge—Now What? offers an eight-point plan to show you how to lay the groundwork for long-term momentum and great performance.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. For any manager in a new position, from CEO to department subhead, the title's question is of paramount importance. The authors of this seminal book, top brass at leading global executive search firm Spencer Stuart, answer it with a comprehensive approach to maximizing the first 100 days on the job, drawing dramatically on the experience of more than 50 chief executives (as well as other corporate personnel) interviewed in depth. The authors' clear, sound eight-point plan covers the bases of what incoming business leaders need to know, from how to prepare physically and mentally for the first 100 days to crafting a strategic agenda; dealing with and transforming corporate culture; shaping the management team; working with a boss or a board; and more. What truly distinguishes this book from available management volumes, besides its inspiring hit-the-ground-running approach, is the material gleaned from the chief executives (among them, for example, Gary Kusin of Kinko's; Paul Pressler of Gap Inc.; Jonathan F. Miller of AOL; Steve Bennett of Intuit), which is full of entertaining, enlightening first-person anecdotes. Notably, this material focuses on steps to avoid as well as on appropriate actions to take. Lawrence Summers, for instance, named president of Harvard University in 2001, recalls that he "didn't fully appreciate the importance of simply providing traditional institutional reassurance.... I failed to appreciate that if you're going to be questioning everybody and challenging everybody, you have to do a lot of reassuring in return." Near book's end, Neff and Citrin (Lessons from the Top, etc.) distill their plan into two principles: "Listen and Learn. Underpromise and overdeliver." Their expert elaboration of those principles throughout will make their work a guiding light to many an incoming manager. First serial to Fast Company.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“Take it from someone who’s been there. You’re in Charge—Now What? asks all the right questions and tracks down all the right answers from people who ought to know.”
—Dick Parsons, chairman and CEO, Time Warner Inc.
“The secret road maps of many prominent leaders are revealed for the first time.”
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute
“Leavened by anecdote and enriched by the authors’ deep understanding of American corporate culture, this book isn’t just a navigational chart for the Big Cheese. It is also an entertaining read for the layman.” —Time
—Dick Parsons, chairman and CEO, Time Warner Inc.
“The secret road maps of many prominent leaders are revealed for the first time.”
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute
“Leavened by anecdote and enriched by the authors’ deep understanding of American corporate culture, this book isn’t just a navigational chart for the Big Cheese. It is also an entertaining read for the layman.” —Time
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
209 of 224 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Second-hand ideas - buy FIRST 90 DAYS instead,
This review is from: You're in Charge--Now What?: The 8 Point Plan (Hardcover)
"Writing a book is not that hard. You take the first 11 books on the subject and then you write the 12th". The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said this already 150 years ago. And it's apparently still true.
Only in this case, the authors seem to have gotten their inspiration from one key source ... and that is Harvard professor Michael Watkins, who published "THE FIRST 90 DAYS - CRITICAL SUCCESS STRATEGIES FOR NEW LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS" in 2003. In that book, Watkins outlines 10 strategies for all leaders about to take up a new leadership position. By the way, Watkins' book is well written without any academic flavour. What is Neff and Citrin's 8 POINT PLAN? The fundamental idea is: Get set to learn, listen well, set proper expectations, read the culture, build trust, lead by example, set the appropriate direction, and communicate effectively. These ideas are transformed to become the 8 steps for building your foundation towards great performance as a new manager: 1. Prepare Yourself During the Countdown 2. Align Expectations 3. Shape Your Management Team 4. Craft Your Strategic Agenda 5. Start Transforming Culture 6. Manage Your Board/Boss 7. Communicate 8. Avoid Common Pitfalls If you read my online review of "The First 90 Days", you'll see that both books focus on exactly the same issues. But Neff and Citrin generously allow 100 days for new managers. Just like Machiavelli suggested for politicians... I've read this book because I'm very interested in being better at taken on a new leadership position (a situation that I've tried five times in 15 years). Since I enjoyed "First 90 Days" a lot, I thought this book would add further to my knowledge on the subject. Unfortunately, it didn't. However, I do appreciate the concise 10 guidelines for each of the eight steps. And the appendices also offer practical advice. These contributions earned the two stars rating. By the way, to complete the "cut-and-paste" issue, please take a look at Gerald M. Czarnecki's book from 2003: "You're in charge ... what now? - Seven essential steps for work leader success". Same title. Same topic. Only different authors... Being a reader, I obviously do not care much about who owns the intellectual rights to the ideas. It's just that I do not like to buy a new book on a favourite topic just to learn that I've read all the ideas before in another book on the subject. At least, I would expect an online reviewer to tell me. Well, that's why I wrote this piece... Peter Leerskov, MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business
83 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
May not be the newest, but I found it the most useful,
By Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
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This review is from: You're in Charge--Now What?: The 8 Point Plan (Hardcover)
I bought two books on the first 100 days--this one and "The First 90 Days" by Michael Watkins. I found this book the most useful, and it quickly and immediately inspired me to prepare a succinct 100 day plan broken down into 10 day blocks, for a new $2 billion a year agency. Hence, I completely disagree with those that trash this book and recommend "The First 90 Days" instead of this book. I do find both books useful--read this one first, then cherry pick from Watkins.
Sure, anyone can cook a meal with the same ingredients, and sure, there are a number of books on this topic. For me, this book has exactly the right combination of white space, font size, lay-out, progressive structure, and inspiring snippets (including the all-important advocacy for having an in-house revolutionary). I recommend this book be read in conjunction with Robert Buckman's "Creating a Knowledge-Driven Organization," Margaret Wheatley's "Leadership and the New Science" (which Buckman told me inspired his own work), and Clayton Christensen's "The Innovator's Solution" (or you can just read my short summative reviews of those three books).
48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Advice for Newly Appointed CEOs of Large Public Companies,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: You're in Charge--Now What?: The 8 Point Plan (Hardcover)
Why would two headhunters want to write a book about best practices starting their jobs among new CEOs? Based on reading this book, I can only conclude that they wanted to show off the CEOs they had recruited for client companies in order to garner more business from those companies and to obtain CEO search assignments from new clients.
Having read many books on this subject, I can only assure you that this one adds nothing to the literature beyond some new cases. On the other hand, this book is no worse than any other book on the subject. Those who will be most disappointed are readers who wanted to learn something new who have read other books on this subject. The next most disappointed group will be those who are taking on leadership jobs that will not involve heading companies or divisions. Those readers will find little specific information aimed at those needs. With a natural market of 150 U.S. CEOs a year, why does a book like this sell many more copies? It's really a book that appeals to those who hope to be CEOs of large public companies someday, which will mostly be MBAs who are fairly young. Such readers can dream about how they would handle these same situations. While that can be fun, the time would be better spent on developing a new skill for your current and next job. As I have noted before, best practices can be misleading. Best practices can suggest that there is no better route available. That thought led me to think about what's missing from a book like this. Here are a few of the many examples I could list: 1. A description of what on-going measurements to put in place in order to understand where the company is today, how it needs to change and what its most realistic opportunities are. 2. A process for creating a premium-priced stock price based on a realistic understanding by investors of the company's situation and where it is going in the future. 3. A way of monitoring how well the CEO is performing in terms of each of the 8 points in the plan described in the book. 4. What to do differently after the first 100 days. Now, if those areas seem fundamental to you, they are. Why are they missing? I have to assume that the authors lack the expertise to work on those areas. They are, after all, just headhunters. If you are still interested in the book, what do the authors tell you to do? 1. Prepare before you start the job. 2. Encourage low expectations of what you will accomplish. 3. Pick and brief your management team. 4. Determine your strategic focus. 5. Improve the corporate culture. 6. Develop your relationship with the board. 7. Communicate what you are doing. 8. Avoid making common mistakes. Did you really need to read a book to figure that out? If so, I'm not sure you are ready to be a CEO. I would like to comment that when I coach new CEOs of major companies I find that NO ONE takes point 6 seriously enough. So if you do read the book, pay particular attention to that point. Good luck!
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