During our research, we asked leaders which actions they rated are the most important for getting off to the right start. Topping the list were five items:

1. Absorb information.

2. Define the company’s challenges.

3. Establish credibility and win employees’ trust.

4. Access the senior management team.

5. Prepare yourself emotionally.

You cannot possibly have enough insight yet to craft a detailed plan or an in-depth strategy. But you should certainly have a clear idea of what you believe, the key issues that you are going to be focusing on, and some form of organizing framework for the key actions you will want to take.

Many leadership transitions are made more turbulent than necessary because of misconstrued or misaligned expectations. We can’t stress enough how crucial aligning expectations is to getting off to the right start. Making sure everyone agrees on the important issues and priorities is literally the foundation to building the first hundred days pyramid - and your future success.

Let’s face it, no one, regardless of how experienced or talented, is equally adept at every aspect of a job. In any case, as Immelt points out, even if you are above average across the board, no leader has the time to concentrate on every aspect of the job, especially in the earliest days of a new position. Think about where your personal involvement will yield the most leverage and where someone else might do an even better job.

In broad terms, my management philosophy is to keep things simple. I want rigorous analysis and thoughtful assessments, but I do not want complexity. If strategies and plans aren’t easily understood by everyone, they will be acted on by no one. So by keeping things simple, we will be able to act decisively… and communicate clearly… throughout the entire organization.” - Jim Kilts.