đźš© Tactical Memo 011: Your First 100 Days on a New Job
Justin Bateh
September 11, 2025
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Read time: 7 minutes
Welcome to Tactical Memo, my newsletter where I share frameworks, strategies, and hard-earned lessons for leaders navigating complex environments.
If you’re looking for my cheat sheets and deep-dive guides, the vault is linked at the bottom of this email.
The Briefing: Today’s Focus
Why Most Leaders Waste Their First 100 Days
The Rule: Perception Sets Before Performance
A Tactical Playbook: How to Win Early Without Overplaying Your Hand
What’s Happening: General Updates
A Reader’s Question: Resetting When Your First 100 Days Went Wrong
Why Most Leaders Waste Their First 100 Days
Conventional advice tells new leaders to “listen and learn” for three months before making moves. On paper, this sounds wise. In practice, it is a trap.
The first 100 days are when the system around you is forming a lasting impression. If you go silent, people do not interpret it as thoughtfulness. They interpret it as passivity.
By the time you are ready to move, your reputation is already set. And reputations are sticky.
This does not mean rushing into reckless change. It means recognizing that the clock on perception starts the day you walk in the door, not six months later.
The Rule: Perception Sets Before Performance
Here is the harsh truth. In the first 100 days, you will not be measured primarily on results. You will be measured on signals.
Do you look like someone who can handle pressure?
Do you frame problems at the right altitude?
Do you attract allies quickly or stay isolated?
If you miss the window, you will spend the rest of the year trying to undo an early narrative.
A Tactical Playbook: How to Win Early Without Overplaying Your Hand
Step 1. Run a Listening Tour With Teeth
Do not just “meet people.” Every conversation should end with three pieces of intelligence:
What outcome matters most to this person?
What do they see as the biggest obstacle?
Who do they believe really pulls the strings here?
Document these. Patterns will emerge fast.
Step 2. Map the Power Dynamics
Within the first month, create your stakeholder map. Identify:
Formal authority (who signs off).
Informal authority (who whispers in the right ear).
Gatekeepers (who can slow you down quietly).
Your job is not to know everyone. It is to know the few who control the board.
Step 3. Score Quick Wins That Are Visible
Pick 1–2 projects you can move quickly that matter to others. The goal is not impact alone but signaling. You want early proof that you deliver.
These should be:
High visibility
Achievable in 30–60 days
Tied to a pain point you heard repeatedly in your tour
Step 4. Establish Your Rhythm of Communication
Decide now how you want to be seen.
Strategic thinker → send concise strategy notes.
Operator who delivers → show weekly progress dashboards.
Connector → highlight collaborations and coalitions.
If you do not define your communication rhythm, others will define it for you.
Step 5. Draft Your 100 Day Story
By day 60, start preparing how you will explain your first 100 days. Leaders above you will ask. The worst answer is “I have been settling in.”
Your story should hit three beats:
What you learned
What quick wins you delivered
What priorities you are now setting for the next phase
This narrative is as important as the work itself.
What’s Happening – General Updates
🙇 October 6th marks the start of my fourth cohort of AI-Powered Project Management. This course shows leaders how to combine project execution with AI, and equips you with the exact playbooks you need to stay indispensable. It’s ranked the the Top Leadership & Business course on Maven Learning and carries a 4.8/5 student rating.
The Briefing: Reader’s Question
Q: “I am three months into a new role and I think I blew it. I focused too much on learning and not enough on visibility. Now my boss sees me as cautious and my peers see me as quiet. Is there a way to reset or is it too late?”
A: You are not alone. Many leaders slip into this trap. The key is to pivot before the perception calcifies into your permanent brand.
Here is how I would reset.
Call a Strategy Session With Your Boss. Frame it as proactive. Say: “Now that I am through my first quarter, I want to share my read on priorities and get your feedback.” This reframes you as forward leaning, not reactive.
Launch a Visible Quick Win. Pick one issue you know matters and move it fast. Communicate progress weekly. The goal is not the project itself but showing that you drive momentum.
Increase Your Altitude in Meetings. Stop commenting at the task level. Force yourself to make one contribution at the outcome or risk level in every meeting. People will start to recalibrate.
Build a New Narrative. When people ask how the role is going, say: “The first three months were about listening and learning. Now I am focusing on [priority].” You are reframing your silence as intentional preparation.
It is not too late. Perceptions formed in the first 100 days can still be redirected in the next 100, but only if you act decisively.
Cheat Sheet Vault
p.s… As promised, click below for my free cheat sheet and infographic vault
Until next time,
Justin
✍️ From the Desk of Justin Bateh, PhD
Real-world tactics. No fluff. Just what works.
