80 – Dr. Michael Watkins: Founder Genesis Advisers, Author of “The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders”

Summary: Michael Watkins is an adjunct professor at IMD. He has spent the last two decades working with leaders – both corporate and public -- as they transition to new roles, transform their organizations, and craft their legacies as leaders. Dr. Watkins is author of the international bestseller The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at all Levels, which The Economist recognized as “the on-boarding bible.” With more than 500,000 copies sold in English, and translations in 27 languages, The First 90 Days has become the classic reference for leaders in transition. Recently it was named one of the best 100 business books of all time. Prior to joining IMD, Dr. Watkins was a professor at INSEAD, the Harvard Business School, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where he designed and taught world-class programs for future enterprise leader development, strategic negotiation, and corporate diplomacy. Dr. Watkins is the author or co-author of eleven books and numerous articles on leadership and negotiation. In the field of leadership these include Your Next Move: The Leader’s Guide to Managing Critical Career Transitions (HBS Press 2009), Shaping the Game: The New Leader's Guide to Effective Negotiating (HBS Press 2006) and Predictable Surprises: The Disasters You Should Have Seen Coming and How to Avoid Them (HBS Press 2004). Predictable Surprises was named one of the best business books of 2004 by Strategy + Business and won the 2006 annual Kulp-Wright Award from The American Risk and Insurance Association. In addition, Dr. Watkins has written extensively on business-government relations, international security and negotiation, most recently co-authoring Case Studies in U.S. Trade Negotiation, Volumes 1 and 2 and Winning the Influence Game: What Every Business Leaders Should Know About Government. His books on negotiation - Breakthrough International Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World’s Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts and Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers, won the CPR Institute’s prize for best books in the field of negotiation in 2001 and 2003. Dr. Watkins is the co-founder of Genesis Advisers, a transition acceleration consultancy. He has designed coaching processes, programs and virtual workshops to help organizations accelerate everyone taking new roles, as well as speed up organizational transformations. Originally from Canada, Dr. Watkins received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, did graduate work in law and business at the University of Western Ontario, and completed his Ph.D. in Decision Sciences at Harvard University. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldwatkins/