Inheriting a business you didn't build: the first 90 days
Inheriting a business — whether through family succession, acquisition, or a founder buyout — is the most under-discussed founder journey. The first 90 days set the tone for the next ten years. Here's the playbook that keeps you and the team intact.
The single biggest mistake new owners make: changing things in the first two weeks to "show leadership". The opposite signal — quiet, listening, asking — buys you a year of goodwill.
Days 15–30 are about reading the actual business: cash flow weekly, every customer contract, every supplier contract, every employment contract. You'll find the load-bearing relationships nobody mentioned in the handover.
Identify the two or three people who really run the place. They're rarely the ones with the senior titles. Keep them with you — losing one in the first 90 days is the highest-cost mistake possible.
Pick three changes maximum for the first quarter. Communicate the why before the what. Change number four can wait until day 91.
“The business you inherit is not the business you read about in due diligence. Listen first.”
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