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If you do a google search for “how to build a 30 60 90 day plan” you will get a bunch of misguided information and some random thoughts masquerading as best practices. Many of the so-called experts publishing this content are trying to sell products and services by dishing out click bait caliber advice that’s likely to do more harm than good for your career. Very few articles or tools out there were created by actual managers – the individuals who make the hiring decisions and evaluate your performance over the first 3 months on the job. In this blog I’m going to answer some of the most common questions I get about 30 60 90 day plans and also give you access to a 30 60 90 day plan template I built and use in my own career. If you find value in my plan template I'd love to hear about it in the comments section.
I’m sure it goes without saying, but with so much change happening in our businesses and careers and lives right now, getting anchored in a solid 30-60-90 day plan is important. Whether you’re out navigating a tough job market and trying to differentiate yourself from other candidates, or the needs of your business or your role have changed and you need to communicate a solid plan. The 30-60-90 day plan is probably more important than ever and I hope my template can help you. GET THE TEMPLATE
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NEW >> If you're in sales, I've just created a special customized version of my 30 60 90 day plan template built specifically for sales. Download the sales version here.
NEW >> I just released my Manager's Job Search Bundle for those of you looking to land your dream job. It has my resume template, interview checklist and manager's 30 60 90 day plan template all in one. Download the manager's job search bundle here.
Here are the questions I get asked most about these plans:
When should I be building a 30 60 90 day plan?
There are two occasions when you would want to build a 30 60 90 day plan. The first is in the final stages of the interview process. When included as part of a strategic planning framework it can help you differentiate from other candidates by demonstrating your capacity to operationalize a strategy. I’m going to focus more on this specific use in a future blog. The second, and our focus for this blog, is the 30 60 90 day plan you will want to build in your first week at a new job. It shares many similarities with the one you’d build during the interview process with the small exception that you’ll create this version knowing you’ll actually have to deliver against it.
Key takeaways:
- You should build a 30 60 90 day plan in the late stages of the interview process
- You should deliver a 30 60 90 day plan before the end of your first week on a job
What is the objective of a 30 60 90 day plan?
This is where most of the advice on the Internet has it wrong. Most articles, like this one, make the critical mistake of thinking that the 30 60 90 day plan is designed to guide YOU. It’s not. The plan has nothing to do helping you “get up to speed” or “hit the ground running” and everything to do with aligning your boss and management team to a definition and framework for success. It’s designed so your hiring will be declared an unequivocal success after 3 months by the people who matter most to your career. It’s not about making sure you focus on learning or training or any of the other misinformation out there. No one cares about that. The purpose of this plan is to set the foundation for career advancement.
If you don’t build the 30 60 90 day plan as a purpose-built tool to further your own career, you’re leaving too much up to chance. When built correctly, this plan gets everyone aligned to a common definition of what success looks like so you can guarantee you’ll leave the first 90 days on pace to your next promotion.
Key takeaways:
- Don’t build the plan to help guide you. Build it to create a common definition of success.
- The 30 60 90 day plan is the first step to achieving your next promotion.
What mistakes are most common in a 30 60 90 day plan?
I’ve already covered the first big mistake people make – they build these plans for themselves instead of to align others to a definition of success. The next biggest mistake people make is not being precise enough in their plans. You have to get way past things like “meeting with key people” or “executing company orientation”. These are table stakes activities that you’ll get fired for if you DON’T complete them – there are no points to be scored here. Rather you need to build measurable deliverables that have actual value to the company in your plan. For example, auditing and optimizing one key process or implementing one new program to demonstrate the effectiveness of your process improvement. Another mistake people make is not being clear about what things you’re actually going to deliver and when. There needs to be some way of scoring your success or failure and a clear project plan with tasks and deliverables is a good way to accomplish that.
Key takeaways:
- Build your plan with precise definitions of what you will do. No obscure descriptions
- Include a scorecard in the form of a task list so your success can be measured
What does a good 30 60 90 day plan look like?
A good 30 60 90 day plan template always has the following components:
- It starts with a clear definition of objectives that are rooted in value to the company … not you
- It identifies specific deliverables and aligns them back to the objectives
- It contains discrete themes for each plan stage (e.g. 30 – audit, 60 – process, 90 – program)
- It provides a clear set of tasks with dates
- It contains a scorecard so it’s easy to measure and ultimately demonstrate your success
Can you give me a 30 60 90 day plan template that has worked for you?
Here is a template I’ve used in my own career. You should personalize it so it relates more directly to your own job. I’ve intentionally made the design professional but not flashy – it should be easy to customize for your own purposes.
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