Very Helpful in Starting Off on the Right Foot

books:


	• You're in Charge, Now What?: The 8 Point Plan Thomas J. Neff, James M. Citrin Three Rivers Press, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good Guide

I bought You're in Charge... on Amazon.com. I am interested in the leadership process, how to approach new roles, some of the pitfalls, etc and thought this was a good book on the subject. I do believe that the best place to get leadership ideas and tips is from Michael Watkins' The First 90 days, but I think Thomas Neff and James Citrin provide aspiring leaders with a worthwhile book.

The best feature, although sometimes over done are the real life examples of CEO's who took the reigns, and what they did. Whether it was a turnaround situation, or continuing a legacy of success, there are some standard approaches that each of these leaders used. The premise of the book is that there are 8 steps to the new leadership process -

1. Prepare yourself before taking over
2. Align expectations (internally, externally)
3. Build a management team you can rely on
4. Build a strategy (Which includes just refining the old one)
5. Transform the culture to aling it with your expectations
6. Manage up and where influence lies (Board, boss, whoever has more power... and also manage those who have institutional influence.)
7. Communicate your vision, your steps in the process, strategy
8. Avoid common pitfalls.

Nothing really earth shattering here, but certainly good advice. The focus of the book are the steps every leader should take within the first 100 days of your tenure.

One of the more interesting parts of the book goes back to the CEO's and what they did. Since this was published in 2005, some of the CEO's haven't turned out to be the captains fo industry that they are potrayed to be (At least from a market perception perspective.). You read about Paul Pressler and Bob Nardelli and what they did in their first 100 days. Needless to say, as time passed, their reputations are somewhat tarnished now. There are others referenced as well that haven't been treated very kindly by the marketplace.

Anyhow, there is no harm in picking this up, although like I referenced before, I think there are other leadership books out there that I more worthwhile. You're in Charge tends to get a bit over done, but if you can overlook that, there are some worthwhile tips to pick up.

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Very Helpful in Starting Off on the Right Foot

My executive coach recommended this book and she was right. It is very well organized with lots of examples on how to get started as the new leader in a large organization. Suitable for small but oriented towards large business of all types. Did not provide Government examples but was still very helpful. I read the book cover to cover and made lots of notes. Try to read at least 3 weeks before reporting. I am three weeks into a Government IT job with a staff of 650 and $100M in budget and all the signs are there that this book was helpful for accelerating my early take-off.

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Get a leg up on the competition

An executive how-to kit for the first 100 days suitable for both small and large businesses - a hard nut to crack. Thomas Neff and James Citrin offer a seven-step action plan for any new executive: do your homework, align expectations, build a management team, develop a strategy, explore and define the culture, find the source of power and set a vision for the company. Few other reviewers have claimed these to be `self-evident' and motherhood and pie, but the examples provided by the authors are well worth the time on their own. The book may not revolutionize your thinking, but it has certainly helped me identify a few underwater stones - experience is cheapest second hand, do not overlook this book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

When you start a new job, you are in a ?temporary state of incompetence,? faced with having to do the most when you know the least. Tom Neff and Jim Citrin, two of the world?s experts on leadership and career achievement, know what it takes to succeed in a new position. Through compelling, first-hand stories, from CEOs like Jeffrey Immelt of GE and Bob Eckert of Mattel, You?re in Charge?Now What? offers an eight-point plan to show you how to lay the groundwork for long-term momentum and great performance.

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