Books by Michael D. Watkins

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

by Michael D. Watkins

Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors

The world’s most trusted guide for leaders in transition

Transitions are a critical time for leaders. In fact, most agree that moving into a new role is the biggest challenge a manager will face. While transitions offer a chance to start fresh and make needed changes in an organization, they also place leaders in a position of acute vulnerability. Missteps made during the crucial first three months in a new role can jeopardize or even derail your success.

In this updated and expanded version of the international bestseller The First 90 Days, Michael D. Watkins offers proven strategies for conquering the challenges of transitions—no matter where you are in your career. Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions and adviser to senior leaders in all types of organizations, also addresses today’s increasingly demanding professional landscape, where managers face not only more frequent transitions but also steeper expectations once they step into their new jobs.

By walking you through every aspect of the transition scenario, Watkins identifies the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter and provides the tools and strategies you need to avoid them. You’ll learn how to secure critical early wins, an important first step in establishing yourself in your new role. Each chapter also includes checklists, practical tools, and self-assessments to help you assimilate key lessons and apply them to your own situation.

Whether you’re starting a new job, being promoted from within, embarking on an overseas assignment, or being tapped as CEO, how you manage your transition will determine whether you succeed or fail. Use this book as your trusted guide.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership

by Michael D. Watkins, Harvard Business Review, Amy C. Edmondson, Herminia Ibarra, Hubert Joly

Become an extraordinary leader.

If you read nothing else on leadership, read this book. We've chosen a new selection of current and classic Harvard Business Review articles that will help you develop an authentic, adaptable style, bring out the best in your people, and springboard your organization into the future.

This book will inspire you to:

• Navigate through uncertainty and change
• Lead with emotional intelligence
• Capitalize on AI and other new technologies
• Unleash collaboration and creativity across silos
• Cultivate the skills and mindset you need to succeed at the top
• Create a culture in which everyone thrives

This collection of articles includes "Begin with Trust," by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss; "How Managers Become Leaders," by Michael D. Watkins; "The Authenticity Paradox," by Herminia Ibarra; "Cross-Silo Leadership," by Amy C. Edmondson, Sujin Jang, and Tiziana Casciaro; "Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organizations, and How to Become One," by Juliet Bourke and Andrea Titus; "Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance," by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee; "'Both/And' Leadership," by Wendy K. Smith, Marianne W. Lewis, and Michael L. Tushman; "Rid Your Organization of Obstacles That Infuriate Everyone," by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao; "Are You Leading Through the Crisis . . . or Managing the Response?;" by Eric J. McNulty and Leonard Marcus; "The Leader's Guide to Corporate Culture," by Boris Groysberg, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price, and J. Yo-Jud Cheng; "Keeping Sight of Your Company's Long-Term Vision," by Ron Ashkenas and Peter D. Moore; and "How to Lead in the Stakeholder Era," by Hubert Joly.

HBR's 10 Must Reads are definitive collections of classic ideas, practical advice, and essential thinking from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Exploring topics like disruptive innovation, emotional intelligence, and new technology in our ever-evolving world, these books empower any leader to make bold decisions and inspire others.

This Updated and Expanded edition features new, breakthrough articles, additional short-form pieces, and a detailed discussion guide to give you and your team the tools you need for sustained success.