Dear SafetyXChange Members:

It's a principle that applies to any person who assumes a new position of leadership, whether it's the President of the United States taking the oath of office or a safety professional just hired (or promoted to) the position of EHS Director: Those first 100 days are crucial. Here's some help to ensure that your first 100 days make and don't break you.

What's Riding on the First 100 Days

Remember the line from that old commercial: You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. What's true of dandruff shampoos is equally true of management. In fact, even more so. You get just one shot to make a positive initial impression on your new bosses and subordinates. The impressions you make in those first 100 days will go a long way to determining your ultimate success in integrating into the fabric, culture and social dynamic of the organization.

And it's not just your own success on the line. Others in the organization have a personal stake in your ultimate success. That includes the people who recruited or promoted you and those whom you manage. If you hit the ground running, their stock will rise; if you crash and burn, you'll take them down with you.

The Obstacles to Success

Unfortunately, just because you got the job doesn't necessarily mean that you will master it on the first 100 days after you assume it. It doesn't matter how closely you match the requirements of the position or how well you interviewed for it. Doing the job requires a different set of skills from obtaining it.

This explains why companies that do a good job of attracting, recruiting and hiring outstanding people often fail to integrate them into their organizational culture. All too often, the ideal candidate gets off to a bad start from which he or she can't recover. The ultimate result is resignation or termination and the need to recruit and hire a replacement.

Advice on Mastering the First 100 Days

George Bradt, the founder of the executive integration firm PrimeGenesis in Stamford, CT, has written a book setting out a plan for success during the first 100 days. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How To Take Charge, Build Your Team, And Get Immediate Results (Wiley, 2006), offers some excellent advice on navigating the potentially treacherous waters of an executive-level transition.

Bradt suggests that managers and companies consider the 100 days challenge as part of the recruitment and hiring process. Some of his recommendations:

• Ask the recruiter and people within the organization to identify the key stakeholders in your performance;
• Ask those involved in your recruitment or promotion about how much discretion you'll have in mobilizing your team, including your authority to support people who you believe are in the right roles and reassign those you believe are in the wrong ones; and
• Surprises are inevitable and you should be prepared for them. The key is the ability to adjust and alter your tactics and approach as necessary.

Conclusion

Once you assume the position, gather feedback from all sides to gauge the early impressions you've made and the adjustments you'll need to make. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to push ahead without understanding how you're coming across to others. This is a recipe for a bad transition and ultimate failure.

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Wishing you career success and a happy Labor Day!

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

FROM OUR MEMBERS
A Message of Hope from a Katrina Survivor

By Mark Habersack

Well, it has been one year since Hurricane Katrina, and one of the things that I have reflected upon was SafetyXChange. The encouragement that I got from you gave me the will to pick up my life and move forward, which I did. One thing I did was to relocate back to Las Vegas and get a job with Boyd Gaming who gave me a new start.

Sometimes just knowing that people are remembering you in their thoughts and prayers can be a source of strength. I don't want to sound corny, but in the days after Katrina we felt alone and isolated. Just when I thought things could not get any worse, you were there (at least for me). It was the encouragement, the thoughts and prayers of all of you that allowed me to embrace life again. Thank you to the readers and staff of SafetyXChange.

Mark Habersack
Corporate Risk Manager
Vice President, Nevada Chapter, Risk Insurance Management Society
(702) 692-4140

HISTORIC MOMENTS IN WORKPLACE SAFETY
The Origins of Labor Day

President Grover Cleveland: Signed 1894 law making Labor Day a national holiday

By Glenn Demby

My colleague, Catherine Jones, insists that Canada invented Labor Day - or Labour Day, as she and her compatriots call it. In fact, it was the international labor movement that advocated the creation of a day to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers.

But Canadians did play a leading role in getting the holiday adopted. In 1872, Toronto printers went on strike for a 54-hour work week. When the union leaders were jailed, 10,000 workers marched in protest. Eventually, the government released the union leaders and revoked the anti-union laws. Some mark the subsequent parades held in celebration as the first Labour Day. However, the Canadian government didn't adopt Labour Day as an official holiday until 1894.

The first Labor Day in the U.S. was celebrated in New York City in 1882. In 1887, five states officially adopted the holiday: Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. It would take another seven years for the federal government to recognize Labor Day as a national holiday. As in Canada, impetus for adoption was supplied by an incident of labor unrest - the Pullman strike of 1893-94.

Today, Labor/Labour Day is celebrated throughout the world. In most countries, the holiday occurs on May 1, the international day of the worker. Canada and the U.S. celebrate the holiday on the first Monday of each September.

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