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Free minibook · PDF, 27 pages
The new leader walks in with a plan already in the bag: thirty days to listen, thirty to stabilize, thirty for quick wins. It's the same plan for every business on earth, and that's the problem. This free minibook calls it the Calendar Cure, and replaces it with a 90-day plan set by the diagnosis instead of the calendar.
Get The First 90 Days of a Turnaround free
By Todd Hagopian, who has led business transformations at Berkshire Hathaway, Illinois Tool Works and Whirlpool.
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Who it's for
Leaders who have just taken charge of an underperforming business, a division or a plant P&L. You pick one of three paths on Day 1, set the tempo by severity, act first on moves inside your confirmed authority and obligations, read the results honestly, and close Day 90 with a documented decision about the next cycle.
Not for you if the business is healthy and steady and no one has asked you to change its trajectory.
What you'll learn
- Triage Before Tempo
- Days 1 to 30: Build Evidence, Not Consensus
- Days 31 to 60: Read What Comes Back
- Days 61 to 90: Deploy, Measure, Decide
- One Page on Day 90
Plus a final action plan and a worksheet you can use the same week.
Key takeaways
- Your real Day 1 is the day the diagnosis produces a signature. Triage first, then tempo, then work.
- Three paths: emergency triage, stabilization and position hardening, chosen by severity.
- Data only needs to be clean enough to land in the right band. The band-sufficiency test tells you when to stop pulling data.
- Write success criteria before each test goes live, and draw the rollback line before go-live, not while things are failing.
- Report Day 90 on one page, without overselling it.
From the book
The new leader walks in with a plan already in the bag. Thirty days to listen. Thirty days to stabilize. Thirty days for quick wins. It looks responsible. It's the same plan for every business on earth.
That's the problem. A business burning cash, a business quietly stuck and a business that's already won do not need the same first month. Run the gentle plan on a business in crisis and you spend the runway listening. Run the emergency plan on a stable one and you burn credibility you'll need in month three.
Call it the Calendar Cure: a 90-day plan set by the calendar instead of the diagnosis. It feels like discipline. It isn't.
Todd Hagopian, The First 90 Days of a Turnaround, from the prologue "Day One Is Not the Day You Arrive"
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which 90-day plan to run?
Run the four triage questions in order, starting with severity. Two or more low bands put you on Path A, emergency triage. No lows and no highs: Path B, stabilization. Two or more highs and no low: Path C, position hardening.
How clean does the data need to be before I act?
Clean enough to land in the right band. Not cleaner. Nudge each input by the size of your real uncertainty; if the band doesn't change, stop pulling data. Then act on every move inside your confirmed authority and obligations.
How do I deploy fast without deploying blind?
Draw the rollback line before go-live, not while things are failing. It has three parts: the operational signals that send you back, the dollar threshold where the call escalates above you, and one named person who can pull the trigger.
Related free minibooks
Which Business Are You?
Turn your three-letter signature into a named diagnosis and the right first move.
Read more
The Four People Every Turnaround Needs
Audit the team you inherited, fill four positions and settle misalignment in thirty days, fairly.
Read moreRelated reading on the blog
- 90-Day Turnaround Plan: The 3-Path Playbook
- The First 90 Days Guide for a VP of Ops
- Operating Scorecards: The One-Page Guide to Building One
Go further
This minibook is one piece. 10-Minute Transformation: Diagnose and Destroy Your Profit Killers (Koehler Books, out February 23, 2027) carries the full ten-minute diagnostic, the twelve business types, the five structural upgrades and a complete 90-day playbook.
The full library
Two ways to get it. Preorder now and it ships on release. Or buy on launch day, February 23, 2027, and get three free audiobooks (10-Minute Transformation, Stagnation Assassin and The Unfair Advantage) plus the full minibook library, on the honor system. Preorders don't include the launch-day bonuses.
About the author
Todd Hagopian, The Stagnation Assassin, is VP of Product Strategy and Marketing. He has led business transformations at Berkshire Hathaway, Illinois Tool Works, and Whirlpool Corporation, with $3B+ shareholder value across five turnarounds. He speaks to leadership teams on business transformation, turnarounds, and breaking stagnation.