Your First 3 Months at a New Job – Ep. 356

In this episode, Mike and Tommy talk through what matters most in your first 90 days at a new job—from building relationships and learning the business to picking early wins that create momentum. You’ll walk away with a practical checklist for setting expectations, avoiding common traps, and proving value fast without burning trust.

News & Announcements

This episode is more of a practical discussion than a news roundup, so we’re keeping links simple.

Main Discussion

A big theme of the episode is that early success is less about “being the smartest person in the room” and more about learning the organization, building trust, and choosing the right first wins.

Learn the business before you optimize it

Before changing tools or processes, spend time understanding how the business actually runs:

• Who the key stakeholders are (and what they care about)
• Where decisions get made (and where they get stalled)
• What “good” looks like for the team you joined

Build relationships and align expectations

Your first few weeks should include deliberate alignment:

• Clarify priorities with your manager and close partners
• Communicate what you’re working on (and what you’re not)
• Avoid surprising people—especially with data and reporting changes

Pick an early win that creates momentum

Instead of tackling the hardest, most political project first, aim for a win that is:

• High value
• Small enough to finish quickly
• Visible to the right stakeholders

That early win becomes proof you can deliver—and buys you credibility for the harder work later.

Looking Forward

The fastest way to derail your first 90 days is to rush to “fix everything” without learning the context. The best path is to listen first, align often, and then deliver a focused win that sets the tone for bigger improvements.

Episode Transcript

0:34 good morning everyone and welcome back to the explicit MERS podcast with Tommy Seth and Seth and Mike so good morning a little earlier than normal but we had a scheduling conflict that came up so we’re just going to do it a little bit early and we’re going to end a little bit earlier so I apologize for those who anticipate starting at we’re going we’re starting a little bit early today hope that doesn’t ruin your schedule too much but we are recorded so you need to check out the recording awesome good morning our main topic for

1:04 awesome good morning our main topic for today will be just a a general topic what happens at your first three months at a new job and we’re probably going to be focusing more on powerbi doing bi things so you’re maybe being hired as a powerbi specialist into a company for what happens in your first three months what do you do that’s our main topic for today but before we do that Tommy’s got some news items yeah so if you were wondering that your chat gpts were all just for coding and it couldn’t possibly

1:34 just for coding and it couldn’t possibly reason because it’s a machine well that’s changed so in the last few days open AI has released o chat GPT chat GPT 01 but with reasoning tokens so to speak okay in preview it’s I think if you have a pro subscription you can try it and it’s scary because it thinks and it’s not is loading thinking but it actually goes through reasoning

2:04 but it actually goes through reasoning steps if you ask it not just like hey what’s a python script that I’m looking for I was testing a few things out just in preliminary and it’s really cool but there’s a little like when’s it gonna say I can’t do that Tommy like sorry that’s not available or just like start that it has logical deductive steps now with certain questions you’ll ask it I don’t know they when this how long they’ve been working on this but this actually was

2:34 working on this but this actually was pretty cool because I was testing this out for basically hey let’s say I’m a I don’t know a oneperson consulting firm and I want to do some AI Sur just hypotheticals here and I wanted to do AI services in the next two years what would those be and you see it go through the steps and it would even like mine actually backtracked like it started writing and then went back up again they started writing again I was like oh so it’s think it’s really kind like oh so it’s think it’s really going through this and then you’re

3:05 of going through this and then you’re having this different type of conversation where chat gpts are great but it’s it does feel like a glorify glorify Google this is now moving towards a different stage I think how we interact with AI and I think it makes a lot of sense because I think this is what a lot of people have been looking for too when we think about what a AI is and at the same time I think we haven’t touched what AI is going to be in the next five years I don’t think we can even comprehend it still I think you’re right I but I

3:38 still I think you’re right I but I also think of this and I look at this going oh I see what happened here Tommy started a new blog Tommy found that the AI can write things this just happened Tommy Tommy hasn’t been writing the blog chpt has been writing the blog I’ve done the titles too I even do the titles unlike some people Tommy’s not even real Tommy’s not here this is chpt yeah of course Chach PT would take the Persona of an Italian and and promote itself through the Italians I I see this going are you saying we fooled

4:09 see this going are you saying we fooled everyone this entire time with our AI Tommy the AI Tommy that would be that would be an advanced AI I’ll tell you that I the Italian one that’s that’s been available for there’s Tommy this this this Tommy AI has been around for 40 years 40 years 36 years strong that’s funny but no but honestly guys like this is

4:40 but no but honestly guys like this is the stuff where they’ve already done studies for consultants and people in the technology space Consultants I’ve done a little more research on but they say that there’s a 25% productive bump for Consultants who use B AI like services such as Chachi PT or Claude or Google AI studio for their normal work I’m sure the same stud is done for FTE but it’s impressive and this goes back to if you’re not using this in your day-to-day I don’t know

5:11 day-to-day I don’t know why yeah I I don’t think it’s that problem I think it’s more around do we really understand how to use it effectively and so this is where I struggle a little bit it it’s it sounds it’s it’s like all over the board right in my opinion right certain things in certain AIS work really well and then there’s Advance a technological advancement and then now I’m looking at cursor and then cursor does something amazing and now I’m looking over here at GPT again and it’s it’s like I feel like in this

5:42 it’s it’s like I feel like in this moment here there’s so much Innovation happening so quickly I’m getting Whiplash but they all the AIS do something very specifically I still don’t understand how to like basic prompt it yet and communicate with so it hasn’t felt like the like the Google right it has settled down we understand and I start learning the the patterns of how to better Google to get information out that is relevant to me I haven’t yet quite figured out how to utilize AI in strategic ways to make it more efficient in all my use cases I

6:12 more efficient in all my use cases I have purchased a co-pilot for our office I gotta be honest I don’t use it very much other than my teams meetings that summarize and re have like that one I do like there’s some really good things so where I think AI is going to be very helpful is taking video content and Distilling it down to ideas and thoughts and taking other things and very quickly summarizing them down to bulleted lists but other than that I have not have me personally I have not been able to spend the time to to learn good patterns and

6:42 the time to to learn good patterns and how to prompt it yet I think I think that’s that is ironically enough are we to are we pivoting to the point where it’s humans that are the the the problem of interacting with AI and and the reason I say that actually twofold twofold one is the well the first thought here is have you guys SE I’ve seen larger pushes for organizations to implement AI policies in their organization yeah

7:14 policies in their organization yeah right like because as you interact with AI like you could be sharing proprietary information from your company because you’re asking questions that you like are now part of these you are now part of these in know in and you can’t do that the reason I bring that up is how do even in the technical spaces how do the vast majority of individuals ask questions in the context of their

7:44 questions in the context of their business right like oh I’ve got this deal I need to make but like it now I’m I’m thinking AI really I reasoning right how I’ve got this deal it’s this amount of money it’s this this thing how do I competitively Leverage them against this one to make sure that they like I land it

8:03 sure that they like I land it blah blah blah like how much information are you giving away yeah to have a reasoned conversation to have ai tell you different paths you can take to win the deal or something right and that’s where it’ll be interesting because like that’s where I see people getting in trouble Andor would be interesting to see how AI handles that because with these these engines if that’s if that’s now part of something that could be returned in

8:33 something that could be returned in somebody else’s prompt that could be Dental to somebody else’s business what I’m saying so I don’t know just some thoughts as you’re saying like now we’re reaching this next level of like reasoning instead of just like cart blanch I found these posts online and they they seem they they correspond to the question you’re answering so they they could be something I’m returning yep that’s a bit more nuanced and if the value continues to increase that could be another

9:05 to increase that could be another area another sticking point area for how AI is implemented yeah those are two solid points and then I just want to mention something that you both said that I think is very permanent and then we can move on Mike to your point it’s not like glor it’s not Google yet because if you remember when we had all the search engines you had to ask geves that was the thing and it was harder to navigate a search engine now we have that staple Google and maybe Bing but this takes a little more skill to do where it’s not just you can just go in

9:35 where it’s not just you can just go in and ask a question to chat GPT but you’re really touching maybe 2% and I’m the same with you with co-pilot where it’s nice in some areas but it’s definitely not an essential like part of my tool Bell it’s like a oh I forgot that was there let me try it out and Seth you’re 100% right about the where we’re going to run into some challenges where people are feeding PDF and local data to their to a service online that has not gone through

10:05 service online that has not gone through the rigors of an organization because where you have to be cautious too so there’s a lot of that’s where I again my Forefront belief on what we do we’re going to be one of the our industry in bi is going to be a Forefront in AI in the future because all of this relies on organizational data it’s text and data and I think we’ll have a bigger part to play in that rather than then right now just AI Engineers developing the the tool I I think so I think there’s also

10:36 tool I I think so I think there’s also this point in or inflection point I think we’re we’re hitting here with the with the AI is if I think about what is good for AI it feels like a lot of the things that are creative like creative things right you creative like creative things right make me make me a graphic that does know make me make me a graphic that does this and has these things in it right something that’s like it doesn’t really have a hard toin answer on things it feels like a lot of times the AI struggles to understand and maybe this reasoning thing will help out a little bit more around correcting the reasoning there’s all these interesting things too where

11:06 interesting things too where I’m finding that one prompt isn’t really what you want to do is you want to have multiple prompts and then once you get the answer that you want you can actually ask the AIS what is the appropriate prompt that I would need to use to get to this answer and it will tell you use this prompt this is the best prompt to use to get this in one prompt so it’s going to help you like but that these are things I’m still just trying to get my head around I don’t understand it yet so any all that to say is is and the reason I’m bringing this up is because if I if I bring chat GP team what’s coming out back to what we’re doing in business

11:36 doing in business intelligence I feel like right now from my experience it has been good to have chat GPT or things build you creative items hey write me an article about this start me a a a email that start with this flavor and this tone right but I also find a lot of my emails I just want to write it myself I don’t want the AI to produce to me a lot of fluff things because then I have to go back and re-edit all of it stuff so then I find myself over editing what it’s doing right so don’t really love that but when it comes to the world of business intelligence we don’t get a lot

12:07 business intelligence we don’t get a lot of creativity the sales number is what the sales number is the reason why these numbers are up or down is found somewhere in the numbers in the data somewhere so to throw chat GPT at things I don’t think chat GPT is going to be the one to resolve the insights from the data rather I think it would be more appropriate to use the AI to make this page look great how many visuals should be on here I have too many visuals make it three and then put stuff in it like you you should be able to talk to it

12:37 you you should be able to talk to it this chart looks too busy and it knows oh I’ll turn off the Legends and I will do this and it knows patterns in good this chart doesn’t look like an ibcs chart make it look like it oh look I found this tutorial from someone online you can just do this and it just sets the settings and it looks like it like to me that’s the stuff that I want AI to be doing especially in the bi space help me get to that answer quicker this is something that we’ve applied in our theme generator our theme generator you bring an image to it if

13:07 generator you bring an image to it if the image has distinct areas on the page you just click the button and it knows these are the squared areas where you’re going to put visuals on top of it figures it out it it estimates where to put the visuals on the page so you bring an image it figures out where to put the visuals and it also knows if this visual is a very small square it’s probably a kpi it’s probably not a table right and so there’s there’s some general rules that are just I think able to be applied and it looks like AI to you anyways just some really interesting I I I don’t know

13:38 some really interesting I I I don’t know where it’s going to go I think it’s going to continue to get better I still am working on how do you where’s the one tool where’s the downloaded downloadable thing from the Microsoft store that all AIS talk to right where where’s the one app that has like co-pilot and chat GPT and cursor and GitHub Co GitHub whatever their co-pilot is like where’s that thing where’s the one tool that lets you talk to any Ai and you could pay for all the services if you wanted but you just go here you you buy all the

14:08 but you just go here you you buy all the AI one rule one tool to rule them all huh and then well honestly like I should be able to write one prompt and it should go to all the machines I agree with that here and here’s the best answer like so there’s nothing that’s unifying this experience yet and to me that’s where I I think it falls short a little bit anyways other thoughts cool move on to the main topic AI for all the things all the things all the things all right well let’s jump into our main topic main topic today is let’s look at you’re you’re moving into a new role maybe Tommy you should phrase this out here a

14:38 Tommy you should phrase this out here a little bit give us some scenario here give us the this the step up here what what is this in your mind looking like you’ve landed your bi job because you listen to the explicit meas podcast we’ve talked about that’s probably not true that’s all we already we’ve already failed we’ve already failed you’re not you’re not Landing jobs because of the podcast because of the previous few episodes you’re like wow this is not Financial advice this is not fin advice yeah all volunteer and you’ve landed your bi job congratulations now what you’re now on your first few days at

15:09 you’re now on your first few days at your new organization and whether it’s a consulting firm or I think we could take the scope of the lens of an FTE you’re in a new place with new people you’re the bi specialist person here who is expected to turn the ship around or move us to the next level and whatever the next star or the next planet is that’s where we want to go because we hired you what do those first 90 days look like from a success point of view what should we focus on or what should you focus on what are the things that you’re doing

15:40 what are the things that you’re doing because there’s a ton you don’t know about their business or the business you’re now in there’s a ton that you need to do from a culture and a People point of view who do you meet and how can you say that what after three months my first 90 days I’m I’m pretty successful because we know it’s hard it’s hard your first three months especially in our space to get the ball running especially if you’re new so I think that’s the lens of our

16:05 think that’s the lens of our conversation today and see what you guys guys think I think sounds good to me this is very reminiscent of a book I read called the first 90 days by Michael D Watkins which may or may not be on my desk right now but really oh 100% like I’ll I’ll even like for for those on on online wow so a lot of my points are going to come out of this because it’s a

16:35 going to come out of this because it’s a phenomenal book I see notes on the side there my you beta my first recommendation out of all this in this conversation is when you’re going to make that transition go buy this book the second is listen to what we have to say well I will say that book too that book is too intimidating I could not read the first 90 days I could only read the first three months so I hope he comes out with a sequel the first three months months seems Les much less intimidating so much smaller number yeah that that was great that’s awesome

17:08 yeah that that was great that’s awesome okay well give us give us your I you don’t have to give us all the points Seth you don’t give us all the answers right right now so so a lot of a lot of like I said love the book A lot of the things and points I’m probably going to talk about are from it and and that’s by byproduct of like where as you get older you assimilate ideas and into action whatever but I’m also going to lean into some things I see people making mistakes around especially people who have to lead teams or or

17:39 people who have to lead teams or or drive big objectives in a company and I think that’s a relevant part of the conversation to to not step into those black holes that can catch you right so I guess first 90 days like right out of the bat I the two things I would recommend one is is on a high level just put yourself in listening mode and get the lay of the land and while you’re doing that clarify expectations from

18:10 doing that clarify expectations from your boss or make sure that you have you’re laser focused on how do you overachieve how do you like what are the person’s expectations and how do you achieve them and exceed those expectations like right out of the gate because if you don’t know where you’re going right like you’re you you could come in and just start doing something that’s completely not relevant to the business but it was very relevant to the one you’re coming from that’s a really good

18:41 from that’s a really good point all right I like that all right we’re done here just be quiet and listen and oh yeah I really I’m gonna ask I’m gonna ask a little bit of a a derivative question here and you guys can feel free to pull me back in here I’m have done a number of transitions between different jobs so as I’ve gone between mechanical engineering different roles in mechanical engineering and I’ve even done a lot of like transitions between I’ve left engineering moved to sales and marketing moved out of sales and

19:11 marketing moved out of sales and marketing went to research and develop I’ve had some very distinct mean I’ve had some very distinct I moved out of research and development and into it like I’ve moved my position across these different teams and I feel like a lot of what I have experienced is for me personally that one to three month time frame is me just getting a lot of the lay of the land learning the people what does this business do but I really start feel like I hitting my stride between three months and six months when I’m getting into a new a new

19:42 months when I’m getting into a new a new position or new role and by about six months maybe a little bit earlier four to six months somewhere in there I really feel like okay I got this we know what’s going on I can start really adding value now and start pushing in and I can see where there are inefficiencies I can see where I’ve I fit because you’re it’s like a puzzle to some degree right you’ve got this team there’s people that are there you have to figure out who you can work with who you can’t and then you’re trying to figure out okay where’s my piece of the puzzle where do we where do we where do I fit into this thing what

20:12 we where do I fit into this thing what are your what are your impressions did you guys have do you have a similar experience there there’s a few things that shaped me and when I’ve started a few other places where I I still try to apply it or that will always have a profound effect on what’s important I’ll never forget my when I first moved to Chicago my first day at the office someone’s like hey you the bi guy like yeah like come here come to my office he had a whole or the person had a whole whiteboard with e cargs or like a bunch

20:43 whiteboard with e cargs or like a bunch of abbreviations and metrics and channels and arrows and he’s trying to explain to me the whole fundamentals of what they’re trying to do at the end he’s like you think we can do this I was like I don’t know what any abbreviation means and there was no explanation of what the technology was what the background was and I was like sure yeah but to me what I identified and then he’s like oh and then I want you to meet such and such because they’re gonna that’s our Sal sales team and D D D D D and so immediately walked there wasn’t supposed to do this I was supposed to meet with

21:13 to do this I was supposed to meet with HR that day but started jumping in and to me what can Propel what you said Mike especially those first three months because it’s hard to feel like you made a impact and I think there’s that expectation too you’re not going to make a profound one but propels that is the people and I will go in trying to identify okay who who the Champions here who who’s going to be one a person of influence in the organization like a manager director and also at the same time who’s someone who wants data want

21:46 time who’s someone who wants data want understands the importance of this or at least you think you get someone on board those are pretty easy to find out compared to trying to understand all the metrics in kpis first off and I I found you would think that you first want to focus on the technology and you would want to focus on the data first but I I would say it’s the other way around I want to focus on the people and what they’re looking at who are the people that are going to probably help the bi team or myself the most because they’re going to be my biggest Champions and supporters and they’ll also help guide

22:18 supporters and they’ll also help guide you or they’ll guide me in hey where should I look for XY and Z what do you look like because they’re going to be most willing to answer so that is the for me the biggest Propel it on especially those first few weeks I think to me this falls into kind weeks I think to me this falls into two different Realms one is you of two different Realms one is you of two different Realms one is I I made a reference to the first know I I made a reference to the first 90 days book that that’s more designed for leaders like when you’re stepping into a management or leader role because the focus there is to to do the opposite

22:48 the focus there is to to do the opposite of what we’re talking about which is to make the biggest impact that you can in the first 90 days because that’s a transitional period where the organization is getting to know you and if they recognize you as somebody who can get things done and are extremely effective that sets the tone for your tenure there right like and if you think about that it’s the same thing except in like the first five minutes of an interview when you first meet somebody right your their first impression is

23:19 right your their first impression is very important and that is what the the the idea is behind like locking in on the key things as a leader to make the big impacts in the first 90 days so you set that tone now at the same time like when we’re is that always going to be the case when you’re moving into a developer role or a bi role no I don’t think so right because but there are other areas of opportunity to accelerate so like are there opportunities for you

23:51 so like are there opportunities for you to lean into the tech like the the you to lean into the tech like the the are you really good at data know are you really good at data modeling and performance tuning like are there opportunities for you to leverage that skill set right out of the gate and what I would say is like some of the most successful people on my

24:08 some of the most successful people on my team or people that I’ve worked with are those that when coming into an organization lean into their their their strengths and Implement changes or offer up ideas to improve current Solutions or build something that lean into those strengths because those are opportunities for you to like rip through or build something new really fast or enhance something in terms of performance or how it’s in

24:39 performance or how it’s in utilized by end users or whatever the case may be there’s sky the limit right so you’re you’re doing two things at the same time one is you are getting the lay of the land per se right You have clear expectations you’re asking tons of questions and I think that’s pivotal but you’re also performing something or doing what what we would call like the quick win and I think that’s one of the big things that’s extremely important is finding the quick

25:11 extremely important is finding the quick win and what I’m suggesting is that if you can lean into one of your strengths with that that’s even better because then you’re showcasing your knowledge set like like the value that you bring to the business and ultimately just as as we like for the entire time you’re with a business right it’s the value that you bring it’s not the time it’s the value and if you’re bringing value immediately and that’s that can be recognized by

25:41 and that’s that can be recognized by your boss or your leaders or whatever those are huge wins in the first 90 days so I’ll pause there because I threw out I think two or three different things just to get your thoughts I would air on the side of caution with one thing you said I agree with the wins 1, 0% but the idea of coming in and start going like let’s start asking questions why are we doing it this way no did not say that okay okay the first thing you mentioned I did not say question why people are doing

26:12 not say question why people are doing things because yeah I would ask ask questions about the business what’s important to the team what what are learning learning the business takes a while especially if it’s a a brand new area or you may be in business intelligence but have you worked in this sector before right so I’m saying be a sponge but don’t be afraid to ask questions absolutely do not question why stuff is done right away yes because

26:44 stuff is done right away yes because that that is a Surefire way of like not making a successful 90day so if I didn’t thank you for the clarification because I just want to make sure for people something yeah not be something I would recommend and I I I it’s kind it’s hard for us I think especially when you’re the person who in some people’s mind come in to be that specialist especially if you potentially have a little more of a leadership role you’re not just a analyst but you’re also going to have some say where you want to go in and you you do see

27:15 and you you do see inefficiencies this goes back to our old conversation too about the consultant versus the FTE that the irony there where if it’s consultant saying it’s like oh well the consultant said it we should definitely do that but sometimes because the the culture I’ve been there I’ve been in plac I’m am still I’ve been in I’ve been in companies as a full-time employee where everyone was like hey we need some help we don’t know what’s going on they bring in the consultants and the Consultants ask the questions of the people who are already there they bottle something up and say Here’s the

27:45 bottle something up and say Here’s the answers and it’s literally what everyone said as the employees were like that’s what we said and they’re like well a Consulting said it so therefore it’s true oh it’s great being from both sides it’s phenomenal but but I think there’s a you there’s a little more delicacy that you have to have especially the first three months and you want to so bad because you’re good at what you do and you see these inefficiencies or you’re see more more importantly you’re seeing it from a different lens than everyone else has for a long time I think yeah but that’s where I I I

28:17 I think yeah but that’s where I I I think clarifying expectations right out of the gate is is really important because if you’re if you’re stepping into a role where you’re the organization is telling like like telling you the problems that they’re trying to solve this is your window of opportunity to be the consultant in an organization because what why do they listen to you well there’s a reputation of your firm or you or somebody else that you can come in and solve these problems for them well that’s why they hired you too the only difference is is

28:48 hired you too the only difference is is is the longer you’re there with the organization either they recognize you as somebody that is that can make those decisions and move forward and make impacts impacts which is what they expect Consultants to do even though yes there’s a large swath of like trust that just immediately gets Associated there but that’s this is your window right like otherwise you get like wherever you land after this is how people view you until you like until

29:19 how people view you until you like until or if you can make a significant impact that shatters that perception of who you are as an individual in the organization and is isn’t that a quick win in itself the the idea that you just said seriously maybe it’s hard though depends on depending on like what it is what it is they’re trying to solve so if I understand my boss and I understand my B and I know who my boss’s boss is if I could have a conversation with them in those first three months like hey here’s what I’ve identified small group we’re

29:50 what I’ve identified small group we’re not doing this to everyone but the people who hired you basically because they know that what you’re going to bring I’m going to have a conversation with them and say what I would put a presentation together or have a conversation on where do we foresee bi at the organization here are things that I would love to do and to your to your point about expectations aligning expectations on where they expect you to be and where to help guide the organization for the next 12 months is a quick win to me that’s a huge win

30:22 quick win to me that’s a huge win but but now you’re stepping into like I’m I’m fine talking about leadership stuff but if you’re coming in as a bi role like your conversation with your boss and the boss’s boss is not like where do we where do I lead the organization right like yeah and I guess I guess where I would dial back from that and say okay we’re talking about a business intelligence developer or a data engineer or whatever fa the most successful people that I’ve have engaged with are those that that come

30:52 with are those that that come in they produce results and quick wins but they’re looking for opportunities to make their Li the lives of their managers easier right it’s hey you’re talking about this stuff do you need somebody to go figure that out I will go figure that out I’ll go figure that out I I’ll build a solution for you like hey I I see you’re really stressing because this is a really high like high-profile objective for the organization do you want me to step in and do that I I’ll do that I’ll

31:23 in and do that I I’ll do that I’ll volunteer like those are opportunities that so many people just don’t look for or don’t see because as like and this is where it’s like really important for you where it’s like really important for I think organizations that have know I think organizations that have ogsm or okrs right because it lets all the employees know what’s important and and like if they have those there’s got there’s most likely a system for you to go find that and that’s a great way for you to find a quick win or find an area of impact as you’re you’re you’re

31:53 of impact as you’re you’re you’re getting into it but you don’t have to look out into these like huge swaps of the network just just do the same thing that we that you do when you’re talking to the business listen to the people that are around you and that you can man that are telling you what is important to the business and and lean

32:11 important to the business and and lean in there and bring your experience and try to solve the problems and that I think touches base with what you were talking about earlier Tommy which is talking building alliances like talking to other people build a network of like-minded people that are going to help you do your job or get you the information that you need to and a lot of times that’s just reaching out it’s hey I’m the new person over here what can you tell me about your business like blah blah blah blah I see we do some reporting for you what are what are some key

32:41 you what are what are some key big things that are are you guys are working on and maybe you have to do some fact finding but even introduction of like hey I’m the new person here I do a bunch of powerbi reporting I see that we we’ve done some reports I’m a resource that you can reach out to and ask questions I’m I’m learning the business what let let’s share ideas and and different ways we can find Solutions like building building those relationships is extremely important because you’re announcing to the

33:12 because you’re announcing to the organization in whatever role right could be just developer UND developer or subject matter expert that you learn about or the owner of the workspace but you’re building reports for them like that is you’re starting to build a network saying I’m a help I can help you how can I help you the only thing I will slightly push back because one I am soaking up everything you’re saying and I’m picking up what you’re putting down but the one thing about from a the leadership role or if you’re just an analyst or more in

33:42 or if you’re just an analyst or more in the bi space and again maybe this is from my own particular experience when I came in just building everyone’s like oh you’re The Tech Guy you’re the you’re the you just build things like I have ideas and once I started coming more with vision so to speak and I’m not going in like with guns of Blazing saying everything’s wrong and here’s how to fix it but coming up with ideas too and I think that goes along with what you said about what do you need help with I noticed this is a problem the proactiveness maybe sure and let’s come in because first impressions

34:13 let’s come in because first impressions are not just Negative they can just be set in a way where you’re just the guy who builds power apps or you’re just the guy who builds semantic models that’s where that’s your role at the company where you may have more things to offer too from a business point of view and I think that’s one thing if anything we stressed on this we’ve stressed hours and hours on this podcast why we started once is not just Tech and I think anyone who’s listening to us too also has that perception to where you’re not just doing powerbi you you have a

34:43 not just doing powerbi you you have a role to play so I would only say we’re I ER on the side of conscious and just building everything and not coming in even if you’re not in a leadership role of coming with some vision and having those conversations because it’s very easy to get pinned as an IT person I’m not I’m not suggesting that you don’t come in with new fresh ideas or discussion I I not at all I think that is like absolutely a key part of

35:13 is like absolutely a key part of being recognized as somebody on the team that’s going to bring a lot of value or can bring a lot of value I I think that is also though the one point I wanted to make about the largest mistake I see people do in their first 90 days and that is not not understand enough about the team the organization the people not asking enough questions and just coming

35:43 asking enough questions and just coming in like a hammer and looking at like everything is the nail that they’re familiar with knocking down and and what does that look like well it looks like in forms in forms of business like people coming into an organization be like oh I know how to solve that I know this third party app let’s buy it like I’m going to solve this problem like so those sorts of things are I think where I’ve seen the fastest fastest flameouts right because in the same way

36:13 flameouts right because in the same way that a consultant can come in and do great things for a company they can also do not so great things for a company right because somebody gives them the trust to to go do things in the same way if you’re not cognizant of how do you bring the most value to this business not the business you came from right in the same ways there’s going to be nuances there’s going to be different challenges and you have to like get you have to understand what those are before

36:43 have to understand what those are before you start like throwing Solutions of your past experience and some of them might 100% lock in and be a great fit but the cautionary tale here is it’s not always going to be the best fit you like the thing you did before may not be the may be the worst thing that you could do right now and that’s where I see you right now and that’s where I see failings where folks walk in and know failings where folks walk in and they’re instantly like not combative but it’s like yep I know how to do this this is the this is how we’re going to do it

37:13 is the this is how we’re going to do it and I’ve seen you successful and it’s like well that’s that’s not really the best solution here and and those are the ones that on multiple different levels whether it’s a developer or a leader and Leadership especially because you you you are putting out a public voice typically to a wider audience that you’ll see tons of emails right in the beginning and then they flame out you’ll never hear from again or they’ll be out the door in six months you ever heard of tblo that

37:43 months you ever heard of tblo that worked for us previously all right I’ve been I’ve been quietly sitting here hearing the discussion I I like a lot of your points I’m going to bring out some ideas or some thoughts here that I’m I’m just mulling over here in my head while been quiet here in the side I think there is so what I’m hearing you guys talk about this first 90 days really feels like a lot of the principles we’re talking and you had the book about that was awesome it brings to mind How to Win Friends and Influence

38:13 mind How to Win Friends and Influence People another book so very similar kind People another book so very similar Concepts techniques and handling of Concepts techniques and handling people six ways to make people like you how to win people to your way of thinking how do you how do you lead thought in your department and there’s a lot of like good summary points that come out of this and I’m in my mind I’m like aligning what we’re saying here this feels like a little mini version of that when you’re coming in right so some initial thoughts right you’re stepping into a new world right you don’t know how your models have been

38:43 don’t know how your models have been built you don’t know what the culture of the company is do you use pipelines do you not do you have is it like one-offs do we share from my workspaces there could be a lot of bad habits you’re stepping into you don’t know people in the interview process aren’t going to tell you all the dirty secrets of well we’ve got these two really large models and they take forever and someone’s touching them every day to make sure they refresh because they’re so big and clunky whatever they’re not going to hear that in the interview you’re going to say well tell me about your experiences right so you may be stepping into places where it might be a bit of chaos and as a hiring manager of people

39:15 chaos and as a hiring manager of people who have hired people sometimes I’m bringing you I’m bringing you on because we’re overwhelmed we have too much work something like there’s a lot of things happening so I you in some in some cases depending the culture you’re walking into you could be stepping into a place where they don’t have a lot of time to spend with you you have to be very clear about your initial expectations what do you need me to do how can I immediately start helping or what do I need to start learning today and where do you feel like there’s needs to be like and so what they’ll do and this is this works everywhere I’ve heard this all over the

39:45 everywhere I’ve heard this all over the place other companies other software development firms the new people get the easy stuff to do you get thrown at hey I don’t need to teach you a lot of this just go do that hey nany’s been asking for this report in finance for the last two months we haven’t been able to get to it just go deal with her and so I feel like there’s a moment here when you’re starting this you’re doing a lot of initial blockling sorry blocking and tackling it’s basic stuff so just come in with the mindset that you’re not going to come into this position and be

40:12 going to come into this position and be like all right where’s the cop I’m ready to write some articles for blogs and we’re going to get everyone on the like yes that’s probably a point but I think you need to win some credits with the people and the team members that are there and really make and and make them feel comfortable with you another thought of that is you want to be able to step back and point towards your boss and like get them make if you if you can step back and say you you want to be able to able to redirect the praise the energy I don’t

40:43 redirect the praise the energy I don’t know how you want to say it like you want to be able to be that person that’s like you come in and you make your boss look great honestly I that’s the step you come in I’m going to handle these things he told me to do this I’m gonna do it really well and then that person you interacted with goes to their leadership and says wow Tommy came into my company we had some major issues with this report in a very fast time he turned around the solution and it’s better now and it’s faster and he even gave me a couple visuals that make it more interesting or or helpful to use so it’s it’s not it’s again it’s this

41:13 it’s it’s not it’s again it’s this influencing a wining of people that I continually see it’s like a pattern that comes in that first 90 days so that’s another major thought here you need to have high levels of empathy if you come in with a closed mind and you’re not willing to listen and empathize with people oh I know this is hard this is this seems like a weird process can you help me understand help me understand more of so I think coming in with that attitude I do a lot of especially when I’m walking in Consulting I think it actually accelerates this need to be able to be good at this because you’re dealing with so many different companies in so many

41:44 so many different companies in so many different positions and places and sometimes when we do Consulting gigs a lot of companies we walk into don’t have a single place to put information they don’t have a place to whiteboard they don’t have images diagrams or documentation around their processes so what we do as we learn things we just step in and say where’s your place to put information give me a SharePoint page and we start building the Community Practice as if it was our own company we treat it like our baby like it’s part it’s an extension of us we’ll start putting videos done that we’ve talked about we have all of our

42:15 we’ve talked about we have all of our documentation instead of asking qu answering questions via email and teams we spend time writing a little post on a page and say Here’s Where the information lives here’s the link to your question doing things like that just little winds there to keep centralized and helping people out I think again a lot of this has shown me how help me understand what is the most frustrating thing that you’re working on and how can I help you with that right those questions I think really go a long way showing empathy and really genuinely trying to facilitate help and growth in that department or team yeah I

42:46 growth in that department or team yeah I I think regardless of how you attack on any level position right I I think the the closing thought I would have in is that is that what we’re stressing or what the book stresses or or other things is be intentional about your first 90 days right don’t don’t just don’t just join the place and expect things to be fed to you yeah be the learner set a learning path ask questions offer ideas Solutions

43:18 path ask questions offer ideas Solutions ways to contribute like ways to off like take on the load of of certain things and find find ways to maximize your impact and in in management or leadership roles that’s going to be delegation right but it doesn’t have to be you can find like that’s where networking and finding others that can provide you information or you can do things with and for are going to maximize what you can do in those first 90 days and setting the stage like this is your intro period this really does

43:48 is your intro period this really does set the stage for how people view you how like opportunities you may have because if you’re coming in as a non-combative right it’s not like my way or the highway I’ve got all these great ideas and we’re I’m just going to roll with them no it’s it’s I’ve got a bunch of experiences let me make sure about those and at the same time you you see me as the learner the someone who’s just gr like taking on it not taking on but taking in as much information as I

44:19 but taking in as much information as I possibly can yeah and I’m knocking out of the park and you do that by I think a lot of the things we talked about and it’s ultimately this is to your point like this is your brand that that follows you forward it’s hard it’s hard to go from like the silent person or the one that just does their job in the first 30 three months and six months and then try to become the the the opposite of that yeah my my last Quick Point too is something I almost wish we talked about more but your boss is also your tour

44:50 your boss is also your tour guide or your jungle Navigator too where I am one I tend to have be one of great Grand visions and I’ve been lucky enough to have some what Tommy Grand Visions no ideas thing thing and I I’ve been lucky enough in in keep telling Tommy pull your head out of the clouds Tommy come down here get out of the AI leave alone yeah what if we bought a Linux server we all should know what if powerbi could run on

45:23 Linux it’d be so much faster if I could do Dax and Bash that’s yes but I digress I’ve been lucky enough to have some amaz amazing bosses in in my time and a lot of times I go when are we going to talk about data culture I’ve noticed that people are here they’re like not yet you people are here they’re like not yet this is not the time because you know this is not the time because you know this is not the time because we got to fix X Y and Z first I know we got to fix X Y and Z first I know that’s something that’s that’s my point blocking and tackling there’s a lot of blocking and tackling but but where do you get in a sense the the lay of the land can really come from your boss so as you’re going through the interview process man I I I can’t talk

45:54 interview process man I I I can’t talk enough about the mentors that you can identify not just the people but the people above you that also want to look out for your success and those are the people you throw the ideas around and then that’s my last big thing we can keep talking but all right with that let’s give us a quick wrap here so sorry this episode started a little bit earlier than normal we had some scheduling conflicts we had to move things around a bit but hopefully all the media platforms you use us from have a recorded a feature usually and Tommy will get at the episode out

46:24 Tommy will get at the episode out today as well like normal so you’ll be able to listen to the episode when it comes out on Spotify and all your other social platforms if you like this conversation if this resonated with you we had some great chat items here as well so thanks chat for jumping in here and and having some comments and the items in the thread here we appreciate that if you like this content we don’t advertise we don’t we don’t promote this we just like let people hear it our only promotion method is you you are our promoters so if you wouldn’t mind if you like this conversation please share with somebody else let them know on social medias or just someone at work or when you go to

46:54 just someone at work or when you go to your new company say look I’ve learned about this great podcast it’s so good it has helped me develop and become such a great powerbi developer but sorry no cuds batteries not included we can’t really give you all those guarantees that being said Tommy where else can you find that where else podcast you can find us on Apple Spotify wherever you get your podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a rating it helps out a ton do you have a question idea or topic that you want us to talk about a future episode head over to powerbi. com

47:30 every Tuesday and Thursday a. m. and join the conversation all power. tips social media channels is most times it’ll be we’re pretty good about a. m. maybe a little bit after when possible whenever we get there what just chill have a little empathy come on all right we’ll get there when we get there we’ll get there when we get there all right thank you all very much appreciate it we’ll see you next time [Music]

48:12 [Music] out out [Music]

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