Recently, I went over the steps I took as I started my job at Chubb Insurance. I was brought in by senior IT leadership to address challenges of transformation and change using tools, techniques and practices derived from Knowledge Management.

I quickly realized on my first day that I would need a consistent approach to gather information, listen, learn, think, engage and share with peers, team members and leadership.

Mark Friedman is an Executive Coach and Leadership Development expert. I worked with Mark all through the hiring process and I asked him if he had advice for my first few weeks on the floor at Chubb. He helped me think through a comprehensive approach and provided some tools to use.

There are many things to do on the first 100 days but I found a few simple steps most helpful. I was able to determine quickly who would help me and where there would be some challenges. I modified the worksheet that Mark provided to me for my own use. I simply started at the top and worked my way down.

100-day checklist

Stakeholders:

Up: _____________

Across: _________

Down: __________

Discovery:

Personal set up:_______________

Meet live: ____________________

Phone calls: ___________________

Info/Documents: _____________________

Day One: ______________________________

First Week(s): __________________________

Strategic Capacity

Mission / Vision / Scope and Organizational| Business objectives

Tactical Capacity

Building Blocks:

How:

BURNING IMPERATIVE in place (by day 30): _____________

MILESTONES set (by day 45): _____________________________

Team ROLES assessed & aligned (by day 70): _____________

Team CULTURE/Communication steps: ___________________

I wrote up an interview template and set up introductory meetings that were designed for 15-20 minutes.

My biggest advocate and supporter was the Global CIO. I sought advice as I ran into challenges and started developing a map related to the questions of the first 100 days.

Organization

There were many opportunities created through this activity. Building relationships and listening were key factors.

The first 100 days helped me understand where I fit in the organization and the challenges I faced. This activity helped me determine where I needed to start and it was a driver for me to make the phone calls and sit with people all across the company. Most of the best information and guidance came from the Executive Assistants.

If you have questions, or want to see more of the tools I used and examples of products I produced, please let me know.

100-DAYS-WHITE-PAPER (Here is another useful guide from intelligent executive.com)