---
id: "action-observe-90-days"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Four Big Mistakes"]
tags: ["onboarding", "change-management"]
related: ["framework-four-big-mistakes", "quote-preserve-before-change", "concept-cultural-empathy", "concept-founder-idiosyncrasies"]
action: "Spend the first 90 to 120 days listening and shadowing the founder before introducing changes."
outcome: "Prevents the erosion of trust and energy that fueled the company's early success."
speakers: ["Samantha Hellauer", "Sanja Kos", "Julie Vermoote", "Sapna Sadarangani Werner", "BJ Wright"]
sources: ["tail2"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail2"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-tail-122-leading-after-founder"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/leading-after-the-founder"
sourceTitle: "Leading After the Founder"
---
# Observe for 90-120 days before making changes

**Action:** Incoming successors should spend their first **90 to 120 days** listening, observing, and decoding the unwritten rules of the company. They should shadow the founder and seek input from long-tenured team members to understand the culture's operating code before attempting to rewrite it or "professionalize" operations.

**Outcome:** Prevents the erosion of trust and energy that fueled the company's early success. This is the concrete antidote to mistake #1 in [[framework-four-big-mistakes]], the operational form of [[quote-preserve-before-change]], and the period in which a successor builds [[concept-cultural-empathy]] and correctly reads [[concept-founder-idiosyncrasies]].