13 min read

New CEO's First 100-Days Action Plan

Are you a first-time CEO? Not sure yet what to do in the first 100 days of your leadership? Or are you joining a new company as a CEO? The below first 100-day action plan may be helpful for you. Treat it as a checklist to ensure you cover all that is relevant to you.

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1. Align with the Board, the Owners, or the Very Important Stakeholders

Get Crystal Clear Mandate and Alignment (ideally in a written form)
1. Accountabilities/Expected Deliverables
2. Key Performance Measures
3. Division of Roles and Responsibilities between Chairman, Owner, and CEO (i.e., to avoid the two captains, single ship issue)
Build a Strong Relationship with the Board/Owner
Set Clear Expectations, Agree on Targets with the Board, and Get the Board's Support
Define and Agree on Meeting Cadence (When to meet to discuss what)
Obtain Critical Resources
1. Ensure total control of the budget allocation
2. Ensure able to appoint people as needed
Get Access to Formal Data/Informal Information
Mitigate Nasty Surprises
1. Detect hidden threats and quickly communicate the issues
2. Clarify/Manage expectations regarding the surprises
Define and Align the Vision and Values of the Company
1. An Inspiring Vision for the Company
2. The Values for the Company, i.e., the Key Rules
3. The Expectations for the Employees

It is very important to align with the board members/owners

2. Understand the Business, the Company, and the People

Familiarise Self with the Business
1. Desktop Research/Consultancy/External Interviews to Understand the Industry:
  1. Industry Structure/Fundamentals
  2. Key Players
  3. Value Chain/Drivers
  4. Key Trends
  5. Key Success Factors
  6. Typical Pitfalls/Dangers/Risks
2. Internal Interviews to Understand the Company
  1. Top 10 Salespeople: Customer Decision Criteria; Customer Perception of our firm vs. competitors along this criteria; Any Customer Complaints; Any Quality Issues; Any Downward Trends; What Need to Be Improved/Changed; What Have Been Tried Before but Failed; What Need to be Preserved; What Can be Done to Make Your Life Easier
  2. Key people in Operations, Manufacturing, Finance, and HR: What are the key past, current, and future plans/initiatives/results
  3. Corporate Wide Employee Survey: What are your pain points; If you were me, what would you fix; What are the Opportunities for the Company
3. External Interviews to Get Feedback and Valuable Ideas
  1. Top 10 Customers: How is the Business Going for You; What are the Key Trends for You; What are Your Pain Points; What is Our Current Performance; How Are We Compared to Competitors; How Can We do Better
    1. Test and rank customer decision criteria
    2. Gauge customer perception of our firm vs. competitors along these criteria
    3. Conduct a brand health check
    4. Establish a view of customer advocacy
    5. Test loyalty and propensity to switch provider
    6. Test customer appreciation of specific value proposition
  2. Representatives from Industry Association
  3. Representatives from Government Agency
  4. Industry Peers (CEOs from other related companies)
4. Data Analysis to Understand the Operational Baseline
  1. Business financial performance (sales, margin, return on investment, total shareholder return)
  2. Investor financial performance (valuation vs. peers, analyst expectation)
  3. Cost structure across all Business Units
  4. Summary of key metrics across the value chain
  5. Existing organization structure
  6. Employee engagement survey result
  7. Standard Operating Procedure/Map of critical processes
  8. Map of Top 100 potential talent & their performance
  9. Competitors to be monitored
  10. Existing strategy and its alignment with the objective/plans
  11. Does the portfolio of projects make sense?
  12. Incentives/KPIs for the top 20 people – are the KPIs aligned with the strategy?
Familiarise Self with the Finance
1. Profit & Loss Analysis: Understand How the Business Generates Profit
  1. Familiar with the Profit figures, e.g., Why it is like that
  2. Understand how the Profit will change next year (under three scenarios, i.e., Business As Usual, with initiatives, and with org change). Note: Cannot be delegated to CFO! The CEO must understand this.
  3. Understand the Key Levers of Profit, i.e., Find the Profit Driver, then Empower it!
  4. Develop a Simple Dashboard/Metric to track
  5. Find hidden problems. Need to manage expectations quickly
  6. Find hidden reserves and keep them as backup
2. Balance Sheet Analysis: Find Problems in Balance Sheet and Communicate Early
  1. Identify legacy issues immediately, i.e., You only have this one chance with a limited time window to erase the mistakes of the previous CEO, e.g., Obsolete inventory, Insufficient reserves, Excessive goodwill, Unresolved disputes, Litigation problems
  2. Take a conservative approach when predicting the future. Better to over-deliver than to over-promise
  3. Check for any unwritten promises/commitments (which are not shown in the Balance Sheet)
Understand the People, Corporate Politics, and Build Alliance
1. Introduce Self to the Organisation + Listening Tour with Key People
  1. Introducing self
  2. Ask them: “What do you do? What are your main responsibilities?”
  3. Tell them: “I am new here. I want to understand how things are done here/how decisions are made in this company. Let’s say I have a radical idea. What should I do for the idea to be implemented/who should I talk to?”
  4. Ask them: “What are the greatest challenges you are facing right now in your role? Similarly, what are the greatest opportunities you can think of to improve the performance of your division?”
2. Build rapport/relationship
  1. Ask for advice: “Can you please give me three pieces of advice that will make me more successful in my new mandate?”
  2. Ask for help: “Would you mind, if I have some further questions, to contact you? What is the best way to contact you—phone or email?”
  3. Send something useful in their way
3. Create the Stakeholder Map
  1. Who has the Power?
  2. Who is Interested?
4. Ask for Guidance/Find a “Cultural Translator/Guide”
5. Understand the Organisation’s Capacity for Change

Don't neglect yourself: The company needs you to be well to lead it — You need to know how things work in your company - especially how it makes money

3. Put in Place Your Core Team (i.e., Your Direct Reports/the Executive Team)

Change/Build Your Leadership Team
1. Determine the Ideal Team you need
  1. What capabilities are needed
  2. A mix of old guys and new guys
  3. What is needed from the old guys; What is required from the new guys
2. Assess the Capability of the Existing Team in Place
  1. Assess the capability of existing personnel, making sure they are fit for the job. If they are not, you must change the Team within 30 days
  2. Determine who to keep, change, move, or watch
3. Make sure the top 20 people are the right people for the job
Ensure the Team is Cohesive/Aligned
1. Foster an environment of open communication, e.g., introduce the rules
2. Launch Introduction Workshop, Know Me session, Align on Ways of Working, and Create Team Norms/Team Charter/Rules of Engagement of the Executive Team
3. Explain the Plan; Clarify the Roles & Responsibilities (Accountabilities, Deliverables, and Decision Rights)
Set Hard Objectives & Targets (see also Sections 4 and 5)
1. Align on Strategic Objectives; Ensure Buy-in
  1. A clear 3 to 5-year Strategic direction for the Company
  2. Where to Play
  3. How to Win
2. Set Targets; Ensure Buy-in and Ownership
  1. Strategic targets for the next 12 months
  2. Financial Target by Geography/Business Unit for the next 3-5 years
    1. Volume & Price Growth
    2. Margin Improvement
    3. Asset Productivity
    4. Cash Generation
Define and Agree on Meeting Cadence (When to meet to discuss what)
Introduce Performance Management System
1. Set Targets and Metrics for each team member
2. Set the 1-on-1 Performance Contract
3. Establish the tracking mechanism
Consider Leadership Academy/Coaching for the Team Members

4. Develop a 3-6 Months Quick Win Plan

Preserve Cash (if in a distressing situation)
1. Stop all spending temporarily
2. Create Cash Spending Rules; Establish Cash Management Office
3. Find ways to increase cash quickly
4. Preserve cash for significant initiatives, i.e., Money goes to the most critical projects
Take Symbolic Actions
1. Introduce 1-2 Culture Change Initiatives (for immediate policy change)
2. Introduce Direct Feedback Channels, e.g., email & suggestion boxes and corporate-wide survey
3. Introduce Monthly Pulse Check + Newsletter. Keep good news rolling
Launch No-Regret moves
1. Fix the Basic Processes (in case broken)
  1. Operational Routines
  2. Decision Making/Debottlenecking/Problem-Solving Process
  3. Strategic Exploration
2. Conduct Operating Reviews at Priority Sites (Site Visit + Questionnaire + KPI review)
  1. Detailed Supply Chain Review
  2. Detailed Manufacturing Review
  3. Detailed Procurement Review
3. Review Existing Project Portfolio
  1. Halt all initiatives temporarily; Halt projects with limited short-term cash impact; Cease preparations for new projects, unless urgent and cash-generative immediately
  2. Create inventory initiatives by function
  3. Assess project maturity, robustness, and the likelihood of success
  4. Prioritize projects based on progress and EBIT impact; Eliminate long-tail of projects
  5. Execute changes and update targets
  6. Eliminate canceled projects and redeploy resources to the prioritized projects
  7. Update project targets; ensure clear P&L link; and review milestones to align with the full potential target of the Transformation Program
  8. Hand over project management to the Transformation Program Management Office
Leverage Internal Knowledge to Exploit Big, Easy Levers (does not guarantee optimal results but ensures quick actions)
1. Pricing (typical impact: 2-4% EBIT)
2. Sales Force Effectiveness (typical impact: 1-2% EBIT impact)
3. Procurement (typical impact: 5-20% lower procurement cost)
4. Working Capital (typical impact: 20-40% Net Working Capital reduction)
5. Supply Chain (typical impact: 1-5% Gross Margin improvement)
6. Lean Manufacturing (typical impact: 10-20% lower manufacturing cost)
7. Overhead Reduction (typical impact: 10-30% overhead reduction)
8. Organisational Delayering (typical impact: 15-30% headcount reduction)
9. For each lever, conduct three workshops with your people
  1. Workshop 1: Identify opportunities (create 10-15 list) and define the next steps to validate
  2. Workshop 2: Choose opportunities based on validation results and sizing
  3. Workshop 3: Develop a roadmap
Explore other typical Quick Win Initiatives
1. Terminate money-losing products
2. Fix, Sell, or Close money-losing sites
3. Sell poorly fitted Business Units
4. Eliminate the middle management layer
5. Cut down most of the non-profitable products
6. Outsource support functions, e.g., IT, HR, AP and AR processing, R&D, etc
7. Adopt industry best practices
8. Stop new product development if profitability isn’t clear
9. Launch productivity improvement initiative
10. Price promotion to clear slow-moving products and generate cash
11. Negotiate deals with top players/customers
12. Terminate consultant contracts
13. Halt strategy process and M&A activities
14. Hold or adjust discretionary investments

Make sure you grab those low hanging fruits quickly — Make sure you grab those low-hanging fruits quickly

5. Develop a 1-2 Year Value Creation Plan (the Hard Side of Transformation)

Conduct Deep-Dive Diagnostic
Define and Prioritise Key Initiatives
1. Identify a Comprehensive Set of Initiatives/Projects
2. Size the Opportunities
3. Create a Shortlist based on EBIT impact potential and ability to execute/easiness to implement
Create Roadmap
1. Develop Initiative Charters (Rationale, Key Activities, Resourcing, Owner)
2. Build Initiatives Roadmaps (Key Activities, Milestones, Political Decision Points)
3. Roll-up Initiatives Roadmaps into a comprehensive Implementation Plan for Transformation Program Management Office
Transformation Program Set-up (note: Transformation Program = compilation of all Transformation Projects; each project has its own team and milestones)
1. Create an overall program structure
  1. Review all initiatives contributing to the full potential target
  2. Define program hierarchy and organize initiatives underneath it
  3. Create an overall program chart
2. Identify initiative owners and other staff members for each project
3. Define the role of the Transformation Program Management Office (PMO)
  1. Passive PMO: The PMO provides administrative support to the initiative owners
  2. Activist PMO: The PMO drives the initiative owners and provides the necessary support (e.g., capability development, communication, risk management)
  3. Responsible PMO: The PMO who drives and controls the initiatives (i.e., PMO = initiatives owner)
4. Build a master timeline for the execution phase
  1. Combine all initiative workstreams into one master timeline
  2. Sequence initiatives based on their value and interdependencies
5. Develop workstream charters
  1. Specify the objective and milestones
  2. Define KPIs and means
  3. Document key risks and interdependencies
  4. Assign responsibilities
  5. Sign-off charters by execution teams
6. Prepare the next phase of bottom-up planning
  1. On-board initiative leads and other staff
  2. Prepare program comms and launch with PMO
Transformation PMO Setup and Governance
1. Set up program governance essentials
  1. Staff the CTO (Chief Transformation Officer) and key PMO positions
  2. Define program governance structure (SteerCo, PMO, Cross-functional teams, Business Unit/functional teams, special issues teams)
  3. Determine meeting cadence, information flow, and reporting cycle
  4. Determined issue resolution and escalation path
  5. Communicate the establishment of PMO to the organization
  6. Integrate representatives from Finance, HR, and other relevant functions into the PMO
  7. Develop charters for PMO and workstream teams, including roles, responsibilities, parameters for success, interdependencies, and decision rights
  8. Align on a tracking mechanism, issue log, and tools to be deployed
  9. Establish and share guidelines for identifying interdependencies
2. Integrate/synthesize results from the Diagnostic phase
3. Define the overall structure and master roadmap
Define Full Potential
1. Diagnose corporate performance
  1. Gather and consolidate the business performance data cube (P&L, balance sheet, Total Shareholder Return)
  2. Benchmark financial fundamentals
2. Assess and prioritize value-creation opportunities
  1. Analyze investor expectations, conduct management belief audits, and collect expert experience from different value drivers
  2. Conduct management workshops to align expectations and set priorities
3. Set overall targets for the transformation journey
  1. Define ambition levels for value creation (Total Shareholder Return, share price, market cap), growth, profitability, and cash flow based on benchmarks
4. Break down targets for individual projects
  1. Operational levers
  2. Capital allocation and financial policy
  3. Portfolio moves
5. Build the full potential value/EBIT bridge based on a financial model
6. Establish links from all projects into a single integrated financial model
Baseline and Target Setting
1. Collect data and internal documents: Financial and HR, overall and by workstream
2. Establish explicit financial and headcount baseline: Overall and for each workstream
3. Manage top-down target setting: Develop the overall top-down targets in financial, headcount, and operating metric terms
4. Manage bottom-up target setting and validation; work with workstreams to refine and set bottom-up targets
5. Freeze baseline and targets, i.e., assign targets for each initiative
Minimize the Risk of Failure
1. Define starting point
  1. Define transformation structure by decomposing projects into detailed milestones and assign a clear owner, sponsor, and target for each project
  2. Teams and sub-teams are briefed on the expected roles and deliverables
  3. Track ongoing initiatives and include them in the regular performance review
2. Build rigor into the execution plan
  1. Define a charter for each project
  2. Set a roadmap for each project (timeline and milestones to reach implementation maturity)
  3. Prepare implementation roadmaps and business cases
3. Evaluate the quality of the plans
  1. Pressure test and derisk all implementation roadmaps (Rigor test by assessing the Duration of the project, Integrity of the team, Commitment to change, and the Effort of stakeholders)
  2. Approve initiatives for implementation (incl. approval of business cases); initiatives that don't pass the hurdle are cut (including ongoing initiatives)
4. Initiate regular reviews: Regularly review impact and investment profile to ensure an optimized portfolio
Minimize the Risk of Disruptions
1. Create risk inventory
  1. Conduct management belief audits to identify business risks
  2. Analyze risk scenarios: Customer, supplier, personnel, operational, financial, and other business performance risks
2. Prioritize risks based on impact and urgency/probability
  1. Assess risks: Probability and impact, incl. P&L and cash flow
  2. Review risk inventory in management workshops
  3. Categorize and prioritize risks
  4. Decide a short list of critical risks for mitigation
3. Decide risk mitigation
  1. Assign an owner for each risk
  2. Define mitigating actions for each risk, and integrate them into Turnaround priorities
  3. Identify process improvement needs for mid-term risk mitigation
4. Launch risk mitigation action in the Transformation PMO
Tracking and Reporting
1. Define tracking process and metrics
  1. Determine process, roles, and instructions for benefit/business case calculation, validation (incl. role of finance), and realization tracking
2. Set up monitoring tools and reporting
  1. Set up monitoring tools and upload project targets into the monitoring tool
  2. Establish weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting and issue resolution cadences, in line with program governance
  3. Upload initiative implementation plans/roadmaps
  4. Customize reporting dashboards and detail change control/approval process
  5. Set up a War room for visual reporting of transformation progress
3. Start reporting

Secure the money. As without it, you can't win

6. Develop the Change Management Plan (the Soft Side of Transformation)

Introduce the Vision and Values of the Company
1. The Inspiring Vision for the Company
2. The Values for the Company, i.e., the Key Rules
3. The Expectations for the Employees
Assess the Readiness for Change
1. Launch the baseline Ready-Willing-Able Survey
  1. Ready
    1. Our business is facing significant competitive challenges
    2. We need to change the way we fundamentally operate
    3. There is a strong recognition that we need to change
    4. Most people in my area understand the need to change
    5. There is a sense of urgency in my area about assessing change
    6. People in other areas recognize that change is urgently needed
  2. Willing
    1. People’s energy for embracing change is high
    2. Most people in my area are willing to change
    3. I believe change efforts will receive active support from managers
    4. Top management is committed to the project
    5. I believe the proposed project will deliver
    6. I will accept changes in my role if it helps improve our performance
  3. Able
    1. There is a strong commitment to change from top management
    2. Top management will ensure obstacles to this project are dealt with effectively
    3. We have a good track record of implementing major projects
    4. There are the necessary skills in my area to deliver the required changes
    5. I am confident I will receive the support I need from my manager
    6. We have the necessary culture to implement this project
2. Identify roadblocks and prepare intervention/communication plans
Create the Change Story
1. Create the Mother Story and make sure it is an emotional story
  1. The case for Change: Why need to change; How it will look like and feel after change
  2. Challenge Ahead: What are the problems; What are the solutions
  3. Individual Implication: What will it mean for you; How will we help people like you; How can everyone influence the change
2. Create Variant Stories for different stakeholder groups
  1. Determine levers to adjust context to sustain behavior change, e.g., changes to performance management, role charters)
3. Story Cascading program. Remember that More communication = Better acceptance
Develop Communication/Stakeholder Engagement Plan
1. Create Stakeholders Mapping (Power, Interest, Key Needs, Communication Strategy, Level of Support/Resistance): The Owners; Board of Directors; Senior Management Team; Senior Functional Team; Site Management Teams; All Other Employees; Customers; Suppliers/Vendors; Business Partners; Banks; Credit Rating Agencies/Stock Analysts; Industry Associations; Related Government Agencies; Consumers
2. Prepare a Communication Plan for each Stakeholder Group (What, Who, When, How, and Frequency)
  1. Define a two-way communication plan (leverage the Change Stories, various content and delivery methods, including line leaders and change champions)
  2. Host regular working sessions with leaders/change champions to ensure commitment and remind them to role model new behaviors
3. Clear governance on communication and messaging, i.e., set up the communications governance structure
4. Establish feedback mechanisms
  1. Determine how Very Important Stakeholders are handled
  2. Introduce a Single Point of Contact for all non-Very Important Stakeholders
5. Launch Communication Programme/Schedule the Meetings/Interaction Points
6. Get feedback from the stakeholders
  1. Repeat the Ready-Willing-Able survey
  2. Conduct pulse checks at regular intervals, and adjust accordingly
Create the Change Champion program
1. Build the program, including the incentives
2. Identify the Champions
3. Train the trainers program - so that the Champions can train others
Role-Model the Change/Take Symbolic Actions
Revamp the Corporate-wide Performance Management System
1. Everyone gets cascaded targets and individual performance contracts (to secure buy-in
2. Link incentives and consequences to targets for all roles
Introduce the Training Academy to upskill the employees
1. Be specific and realistic about the capabilities and capacity required to deliver
2. Analyze gaps between existing and ideal capabilities
3. Develop intervention plan
Beware of the Political Coups
1. Identify potential 'Evils'
2. Create a Plan to Manage the 'Evils'
3. Offer peace terms before they create problems
Introduce Any Organisational Reorganisation required

Get the people excited and work together while navigating the hard challenges — Get your people excited and work together while navigating the hard challenges

7. Initiate the Development of 3-5 years Strategy

Create a plan to develop the Corporate & Business Unit Strategy
Baseline Strategy & Performance
1. Analyze historical performance and root causes
2. Assess current competitiveness against benchmarks: Offering, target customers, differentiation
3. Assess market outlook and future customer needs
4. Review the current management plan
Review business model and right to win
1. Conduct feasibility check for business model
2. Screen opportunities and threats
Prioritize opportunities and set the agenda
1. Scope opportunities and assess impacts
2. Prioritize opportunities, set targets and timeline
Prepare for strategic agenda rollout
1. Plan M&A and other changes
Assess Business Risks and Create Mitigation Plans

Don't ignore the long-term strategy: not urgent but critical

8. Create Self-Management Plan

Define a Personal Goal/Purpose
Define Major Actions, aka the CEO Agenda (List of Major Initiatives, Timing, and Metrics)
1. CEO vision for self and organization
2. Key priorities for work as CEO
3. Action steps to complete key priorities and milestones to monitor
4. Performance objectives for self and organization
5. Key people to engage with detailed initiatives and actions
6. Meeting plans for key meetings (agenda items and expected outcomes)
7. Communication strategy for initiatives rollout
8. Scheduled meeting times
9. Scorecard to track progress
Ensure Time is Spent Effectively/Calendar Analysis
1. Analyse Current Calendar, e.g., see how much time is spent on each bucket
  1. Internal Meetings: Direct team/1-on-1/ office event; Board/ VIP stakeholders; Business Units/Functional Units/Sites
  2. External Meetings: Customers; Partner/Vendor; Investor/Debtor; Media/Government
  3. On the road/traveling
  4. Strategy related
  5. Day-to-day Operations
  6. Email/impromptu meetings
  7. Self-time for thinking, planning, and development
  8. Home & Family/Personal appointment
2. Create the Ideal Time Spent Allocation (link to the CEO Agenda)
  1. Keep-Start-Stop framework
  2. Make sure there is time allocated for Self
  3. Make sure there is time allocated 1-on-1 with Direct Reports as well as a Team meeting
  4. Create Rules of Prioritisation and get the Personal Assistant to be familiar with these rules
3. Ensure the Ideal Time Allocations are booked in the Calendar
  1. Set the meeting discipline/rhythm
  2. Get the Chief of Staff to review any meeting requests and prioritize: Create a simple, short meeting request form (What topic, How Important, How Long, What Decisions are Needed, Have the Data Been Prepared)
Create Role-Modelling Opportunities/Take Symbolic Actions
Address Skill Gaps (if any)
1. Review Current Skillset via 360-degree review
2. Determine the Required Skillset for Success Now and in the Next Career Move
  1. Industry knowledge and context
  2. Stakeholder relationship
  3. Lean transformation skill
  4. Industry 4.0 skill
3. Create a Personal Development Plan