Michael Watkins’ First 90 Days | Renegade Marketers Unite #438

If you haven’t read The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, what are you waiting for? This bestselling guide to leadership transitions is a must-read for any executive stepping into a new role, and it’s a staple in the CMO Huddles community. A CMO’s first 90 days will set the course—either laying the groundwork for success or paving the way for an uphill battle. Drawing on more than two decades of research, Michael Watkins joins host Drew Neisser to share essential transition strategies and reveal the critical mistakes executives make in their early days—and exactly how to avoid them. What You’ll Learn: • The biggest mistakes executives make in their first 90 days—and how to sidestep them. • How to address the real problems within an organization—not just the ones you're familiar with. • The importance of early wins and strategies to resist the "action imperative" • The critical role of shifting perspectives for achieving long-term success. • The power of process leadership and how to use it to accelerate your impact. Michael also shares insights from his new book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, and why strategy has never been more critical (stay tuned for that episode). Chapters 00:00 — Intro: Career Huddle + why “First 90 Days” matters 01:03 — Guest intro: Michael Watkins (author, The First 90 Days); session goals 02:59 — Trap #1: “What got you here…”; CMO shift to enterprise leadership & two-hat mindset 04:41 — Traps #2–#3: premature diagnosis & action imperative; slow down to learn/connect 10:47 — Frameworks: learn–connect–decide–reflect; quick wins, momentum & culture fit 16:01 — Alignment: negotiate success with the CEO; build alliances; don’t be sole source of pain 19:26 — Operating cadence: run on 90-day sprints with OKRs; agile planning vs annual plans 27:11 — Diagnosis tools: TOES - SWOT for shared reality; STARS (startup/turnaround/growth/realignment/sustain) 31:01 — Break-even mindset; leader amplification; team assessment Qs (“If you were me…?”); 30-60-90 as process 46:56 — New book: Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking Connect with us on LinkedIn:   / renegade-llc   Connect with Drew on LinkedIn:  / drewneisser   Connect with Michael Watkins on LinkedIn:  / michaeldwatkins   To find the transcripts of all episodes, suggest future guests, or learn more about quite possibly the best B2B marketing agency in New York City, visit https://renegademarketing.com/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit: https://cmohuddles.com/ #TheFirst90Days #MichaelWatkins #executiveleadership #leadershiptransition #executiveonboarding #newleaders #leadershipdevelopment #strategicleadership #leadershipmistakes #marketingleadership #CLevelLeadership #executivetransition #onboardingstrategy #leadershipframework #B2Bleadershipstrategies #newroleleadership #careertransition#marketingpodcast #b2bmarketers #cmo #b2bleadership #b2bmarketingagency