Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Congratulations on the new job!
You didn't mention what your position will be, only that it is marketing -- so I'm not positive what your role is and what capacity you are to interact with your work team.
Without more specifics, I would recommend first and foremost that you spend some time early on meeting with the department heads (and subordinates if appropriate) of the different departments with which marketing interacts. It's helpful to know what they expect of you, how they are used to interacting with marketing, and identify problem areas that you might be able to address. In marketing, we often spend so much time focusing outward towards the customer, that we sometimes forget to communicate back through the channels to the people that will need to support those customers once the inquiries that you generate come rolling in.

Start by asking questions and listening a lot. Only once you understand the various issues and needs can you truly offer solutions that the company can benefit from.

Ask for help, find out how it's been done, why the previous person left, and what milestones are coming up that you need to pay attention to.

I agree with Jay. Reading between the lines, it sounds like it's a role that is different from what you have done before. It's also a new industry.

For at least the first 90 days, I would try to avoid introducing any new strategies. You need to make a list of all of the individuals internally and extrenally that have information that will help you understand the company and the industry you are in. Internally, that's your superiors, peers and those who report to you. Externally, that's customers, prospects, suspects, analysts and even competitors if you manage to find a talkative one at a trade show or something.

While you're gathering this info you can be thiking about where you can have the greatest impact, but don't be too quick to jump to conclusions. Be even slower to share those conclusions with others.

All the best!

Melissa

Just to add to what the others have already said, remember that you need to learn the goals of your new organization, before forming a marketing strategy, and before creating a tactical plan. So spend plenty of time learning what the company as a whole wants to do, and learning about the products. You may find that your resources are completely different, so you'll need to find out what you have at hand as well. Good luck!

Read: "The first 90 days" by Michael Watkins, it provides a guide for leaders making a transition from one role into a new one. Transitions are one of the most difficult times for most leaders. This book is an essential guide for leaders in transition…

https://www.amazon.com/First-90-Days-Critical-Strategies/dp/1591391105

A quick overview:

“Transition failures happen when new leaders either misunderstand the essential demands of the situation or the lack of skill and flexibility to adapt to them.”



Promote Yourself

“This doesn’t mean hiring your own publicist. It means making the mental break from your old job and preparing to take charge in the new one. Perhaps the biggest pitfall you face is assuming that what has made you successful to this point in your career will continue to do so. The dangers of sticking with what you know, working extremely hard at doing it, and failing miserably are very real.”



Accelerate Your Learning

“You need to climb the learning curve as fast as you can in your new organization. This means understanding its markets, products, technologies, systems and structures, as well as its culture and politics. Getting acquainted with the new organization can feel like drinking from a fire hose. You have to be systematic and focused about deciding what you need to learn and how you will learn it most effectively.”



Match Strategy to Situation

“There are no universal rules for success in transitions. You need to diagnose the business situation accurately and clarify its challenges and opportunities. Start-ups, for instance - of a new product, process, plant, or completely new business - share challenges quite different from those you would face while turning around a product, process, or plant in serious trouble. A clear diagnosis of the situation is an essential prerequisite for developing your action plan.”



Secure Early Wins

“Early wins build your credibility and create momentum. They create virtuous cycles that leverage the energy you are putting into the organization to create a pervasive sense that good things are happening. In the first few weeks, you need to identify opportunities to build personal credibility. In the first 90 days, you need to identify ways to create value, improve business results, and get to the breakeven point more rapidly.”



Negotiate Success

“Because no other single relationship is more important, you need to figure out how to build a productive working relationship with you new boss and manage his or her expectations. This means carefully planning for a series of critical conversations about situation, expectations, style, resources, and your personal development. Critically, it means developing and gaining consensus on your 90-day plan.”



Achieve Alignment

“The higher you rise in an organization, the more you have to play the role of organizational architect. This means figuring out whether the organization’s strategy is sound, bringing its structure into alignment with its strategy, and developing the systems and skill bases necessary to realize strategic intent.”



Build Your Team

“If you are inheriting a team, you will need to evaluate its members and perhaps restructure it to better meet the demands of the situation. Your willingness to make tough early personnel calls and your capacity to select the right people for the right positions are amongst the most important drivers of success during your transition. You will need to be both systematic and strategic in approaching your team building challenge.”



Create Coalitions

“Your success will depend on your ability to influence people outside your direct line of control. Supportive alliances, both internal and external, will be necessary to achieve your goals. You should therefore start right away to identify those whose support is essential for your success, and to figure out how to line them up on your side.”



Keep Your Balance

“在个人和职业做出的骚动tion, you will have to work hard to maintain your equilibrium and preserve your ability to make good judgements. The risk of losing perspective, getting isolated, and making bad calls are ever present during transitions. There is much you can do to accelerate your personal transition and to gain more control over your work environment. The right advise-and-counsel network is an indispensable resource.”



Expedite Everyone

“Finally, you need to help everyone in your organization - direct reports, bosses, and peers - accelerate their own transitions. The quicker you can get your new direct reports up to speed, the more you will help your own performance. Beyond that, the benefits to the organization of systematically accelerating everyone’s transitions are potentially vast.”



In Conclusion….

Transitions need to be carefully managed as they are risky and prone to failure. This book is very well written and full of practice advice to guide leaders through the crucial first 90 days in their new roles. I found this book an extremely useful resource in a recent transitions that I made from a leadership position in one organization to another. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some guidance and advice as they seek to develop their personal 90 day transition plans.