New Leader ? Get Early Wins - Harvard Management Update
Get early wins to build momentum fast. By the end of the first six months, the new leader must have begun to energize people and focus them on solving important business problems, in ways that have a quick, dramatic impact.
The key to an early win is to identify problems that (a) can be tackled in a reasonable period of time and (b) have solutions that will result in tangible operational and financial improvements.
TO SECURE EARLY WINS, A LEADER SHOULD:- Establish A-item priorities, the major objectives that she must accomplish in the first couple of years. That lets her determine goals for the first few months in the context of these longer-term objectives. When she sets out to get some early wins, she can simultaneously move the organization toward the longer-term goals.
- Identify a center of gravity, one (and only one) key area or process where early wins are probable. For our new COO it was the distribution system, but the right center of gravity depends on the business. In a pharmaceutical company it might be a key part of the drug discovery process; in an auto company, the handoff from product development to manufacturing. Regardless, the chosen center of gravity must be an area that is important and that allows for substantial performance improvement.
- Initiate pilot projects, specific initiatives within the center of gravity to secure early wins. Implementation plans for the projects should define the standards to be used, the resources needed, and the methodologies to be employed, while specifying both tangible and intangible goals.
New Leader? Get Early Wins - Harvard Management Update - HarvardBusiness.org
Tags: HBS, Leadership