What I am not going to do
I have been in this job for six days, so let me start with what I am not going to do.
I am not going to reorganise anything in the first ninety days. I know there are things you would reorganise, and you probably have strong opinions about them, and I want to hear all of it — but I am not going to act on it until I have watched the system run for a full quarter. A reorganisation designed by someone who has not seen a full cycle is just a guess withauthority behind it.
I am not going to pretend I understand the work better than you do. I have managed teams; I have not done your work. If I say something that reveals I don't know how it actually happens, please tell me immediately and without ceremony. I would rather be corrected in week one than discover it in month six.
What I will do
Three things.
One: I will remove blockers, and I will measure myself on it. Starting this week, there is a standing item in our one-to-ones: what is in your way? My job is not to have good ideas about your work. My job is to make it possible for you to have them.
Two: I will tell you what I know, including the uncomfortable parts. I will share what I can about budget, headcount and the company's thinking as soon as I am allowed to. Where I cannot share, I will say "I can't share that yet, and here is when I expect to be able to" — instead of the usual silence, which everyone correctly reads as bad news.
Three: I will protect the focus blocks. I have seen what happens to a team whose calendar is shredded by meetings. If you need a standing half-day with no meetings in it, it is approved as of now, and I will defend it against anyone who asks.
What I need from you
Tell me what is broken. Not in the town hall in week eight — in a one-to-one, next week, plainly.
And tell me what is working that I might accidentally break. New managers break things by optimising the wrong variable, and the only defence is the people who were here before.
The one promise
In ninety days I will come back to this room and tell you what I got wrong. I will have a list, because everyone has a list, and I would rather own mine publicly than have you compile it privately.
Thank you for having me. Now — what is in your way?