Forum Corp. and author Michael Watkins launch unique program to speed leaders' transitions into new roles
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Program helps companies accelerate performance of newly appointed managers,dramatically reduces costly leadership failures

Boston, MA, December 4, 2003 The Forum Corp., in partnership with leadership transitions expert and Harvard Business School professor Michael Watkins, today unveiled a unique program that enables companies to provide managers with a road map for taking charge in their new positions, allowing them to avoid costly and damaging failures and contribute to the
organization faster.

The First 90 Days Program is based on the research underpinning Watkins newly published book: The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels. The program provides a systematic approach to transition management, reducing the costs of the many, often disruptive, transitions that take place in companies.

By participating in The First 90 Days Program, newly appointed managers will get up to speed quicker and contribute earlier to achieving their companies goals. Program participants will learn Watkins framework for transition management and use it to diagnose their situations, assess their vulnerabilities, build their teams, create supportive coalitions, and secure critical early wins.

The First 90 Days Program will be offered by Forum to medium and large organizations, primarily as a one-and-a-half-day program delivered just-in-time to managers in transition. This offering addresses a substantial and unmet need in the corporate learning marketplace for detailed guidance on how to best manage critical career transitions.

We are very pleased about this partnership with Professor Watkins, who is the leading thinker in transition management, said Forum CEO Ed Boswell. We can now offer our clients a unique, cutting-edge program with a proven track record. Like most Fortune 500 companies, our clients are experiencing more frequent managerial transitions, while the cost of failure has never been greater. This program directly addresses this problem.

High failure rates among transitioning managers have been a persistent problem for companies for years, said Professor Watkins. Yet new managers typically are left to sink or swim. No longer will they have to rely solely on informal coaching, advice from peers, and intuition to survive their trials by fire. Im delighted to be working with Forum to bring The First 90 Days Program to the many organizations that stand to benefit.

Watkinss research has revealed that one quarter of managers in Fortune 500 companies take new jobs each year, and that their success depends on how they perform in their first 90 days. Transitions are times of great vulnerability because new leaders lack the insight and support networks necessary to succeed.

The course can be delivered as a stand-alone program, or in combination with Leadership Transitions, a Harvard Business School Publishing interactive performance support tool also based on Watkins work. As part of the partnership with Boston-based Forum, Watkins will support the design and delivery of The First 90 Days Program, and, in select cases, participate in the delivery of program content to company leaders.

About Forum

The Forum Corp. is a global leader in workplace learning. For more than three decades, Forum has helped Fortune 1000 and FTSE 250 clients address their most important business challenges with learning solutions. Whether the issue is driving growth and profitability, minimizing employee turnover, developing leaders at all levels, increasing sales force productivity, or improving customer satisfaction and retention, Forum delivers tangible business results. Forums research-based content can be customized to provide learning solutions that meet the unique needs of its clients with off-the-shelf speed and efficiency.

About Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he does research on leadership and negotiation. He is the author of several books, including the newly published The First 90 Day: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels (Harvard Business School Press) and Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers (2002). He is also the co-author of Right from the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role and author of Leadership Transitions, a Harvard Business School Press eLearning Program.