“The actions you take in your first 3 months in a new job will largely determine whether you fail or succeed.” If you fail to build momentum early, it’s an uphill battle later. As an executive coach, I am typically called on by CEOs or PE operating partners long after the CFO’s first 90 days and often see the gaps that might have been avoided.
Whether you’re on the cusp of a new role, expecting to be hired or promoted, or actually in your first 90 days, the success strategies for new leaders follow a clear pattern. Wisdom from Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days and an expert on accelerating transitions, has been around for 15+ years, and I recommend it highly. But if you don’t have time for a full read just now, these 7 tips alone can go a long way.
For Your First 30 Days as CFO: a 10-second headline
Plan to hit the ground running
Neutralize your vulnerabilities
Define your A-List priorities, and potential early wins
Create a learning plan
Focus on the fundamentals
Get engaged. Don’t keep away.
Plan 3 conversations with your boss
Specific ACTIONS for your First 30 Days as CFO:
1. Plan to hit the ground running.
Envision mental milestones. What do you want to achieve on your 1st day? In your 1st week? Jot ideas for your 1st month, 2nd and finally your 3-month mark. Your boss, your peers, your direct reports all expect to see some immediate impact. Some CFOs fall into the trap of being too cautious for too long. The simple act of having a plan clears your mind and sets you up for success.
2. Neutralize your vulnerabilities.
Many newly promoted executives work one level below where they now are. Figure out what you need to do differently, to be a strategic CFO. Reject the comfortable pattern of some former role.
If you’re being promoted internally, establish a clear break-point: agree on a specific cut-over date with your boss. Figure out a way to deal with the resulting gap, as if the prior person had quit. Want to disappoint? Just try to be a good soldier who performs both jobs until your previous post is filled.
3. Define your A-List priorities, including potential areas for early wins.
These flow straight from the issues discussed during your hiring process. What are the critical areas in the company and in the Finance Department that demand attention? Look for low-hanging fruit: high ROI, without a long time horizon. And remember key pain points. If improved FP&A is vital for your stakeholders, what can your team do in the short run to show progress? Consider a project plan, a gap analysis, a task force with a mandate and 6 hours a week carved-out for specific deliverables that create value and momentum. Your A-List should offer you and your team clear direction, yet allow flexibility while you learn about the situation. This will be iterative.
4. Create a learning plan.
If it’s been a long time since you faced a steep learning curve, the fear of coming across as incompetent can set up a vicious cycle. Self-doubt, passivity, denial, defensiveness – or on the opposite end of the spectrum, arrogance as a cover. Humility and transparency go a long way. Create a learning plan that gets you oriented to the industry, the company.
Too many middle-market companies do not have a formal orientation program for their newly hired C-level executives or VPs. Either because resources are thin, or HR and senior leaders think it might be beneath your dignity to provide a structured learning plan as they would for lower levels. So figure out who needs to show, tell or downright teach you stuff ASAP. A leadership coach can help with this.
5. Focus on the fundamentals.
Don’t get distracted into all the little details of the business or your department just yet. You will need to know that soon enough. But for now, keep your eye on the ball. What are your company’s key metrics? What will you need to know for your first presentation to the Board? Where are the risks – what could blind-side you? Relationship-building is as important to the fundamentals as numbers and strategy. Leadership coaching can be useful as well, in evaluating the team and quickly figuring out how to best deploy FP&A resources.
6. Get engaged, and don’t keep away.
Get on your CEO’s calendar early and often. But plan your conversations to make best use of that time. (More on that in a future post.)
If your company is owned by a PE firm, you should be talking with your operating partner at least weekly, and often more depending on their style. This ensures your boss(es) have visibility into the problems you face, and see your progress. It also helps you stay in tune with their shifting landscape and resulting changes in expectations.
7. Plan 3 conversations with your new boss.
With your CEO, for sure. And if you have a private equity Operating Partner, do the same – separately. The 3 conversations should enable you to:
Understand how your boss sees and diagnoses the current business situation.
What big threats loom, or opportunities beckon? Where is the company in the business cycle? What are the Ops team’s priorities, and how can you support Sales, Marketing, Ops as CFO?
Align expectations.
What does your new CEO and private equity firm need you to do in the short term? Medium term? “What will constitute success? How will your performance be measured? When? You might conclude that expectations are unrealistic and that you need to reset them. Work at reading between the lines. Under-promise and over-deliver to build your credibility. Remember: a tie in a conflict over what was said and about expectations doesn’t go to you, it goes to your boss,” Watkins reminds us.
Have the “style” discussion.
How does your boss prefer to intake information? Ask me how often I’ve seen issues stem from the fact that a CFO likes to send long emails and while the CEO prefers brief face-to-face meetings, or a quick call. Does your boss like a lot of detail, while you prefer to offer it only on a “need-to-know” basis? What kinds of decisions does he or she want to be consulted on, and where can you make the call on your own? Being in sync avoids certain pitfalls.
Your over-arching 90-day plan should be written in your first week or so, even if only in bullets. (In fact, ideally, you’d outline a preliminary 90-day plan in the 2-3 weeks BEFORE you start your new role, so you have time to start making the mental transition. My most successful client even met with his new boss to discuss inputs to the 90-day plan BEFORE he started on Day 1.) Specify goals, priorities, as well as milestones and target dates. Once you’re a couple of weeks in, share it as a draft with your CEO and operating partner(s). This creates clarity and alignment on how you’ll spend your time, what you’ll do and what you’ll postpone addressing. It helps avoid gaps, and keeps you from focusing on anything that’s not important to your boss and peers.
Then review your results against the plan with your boss at the end of each 30 days, and course-correct the plan as your initial assessment of strategy evolves. For further insights, also see:
#CFOcoach #CEO #PrivateEquity #Finance #Leadership #First90Days
Edith Hamilton, MBA, CPCC is a certified executive coach for CFOs and VPs in Finance and Operations, particularly recently promoted women in the C-suite. She is a former executive of Fortune 500s, and has a background in private equity. With over 25 years’ experience in finance, operations, and growth strategies in corporations of all sizes including middle-market and entrepreneurial, Edith is a catalyst who accelerates leadership growth using tailored coaching frameworks that typically have an ROI of 4x-6x. Connect on LinkedIn.
