The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

About

The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins is essential reading for any search fund operator transitioning into the CEO role of their newly acquired business. The book provides a systematic framework for managing leadership transitions, covering how to accelerate learning about a new organization, build relationships with key stakeholders, align expectations, secure early wins, and create coalitions for change. Watkins identifies common traps that derail leaders in transition and provides strategies to avoid them. For search fund entrepreneurs, who often face the unique challenge of stepping into a leadership role in a company they did not build, this book offers critical guidance on the first critical months post-acquisition.