The first 100 days as a CCO

Name: Implement Consulting Group
Price range: $

A disciplined transition into commercial leadership

Published

18 February 2026

Stepping into a new commercial leadership role is intense. Expectations are high, the organisation is watching, and the instinct is to move fast. Yet experience shows that the leaders who create lasting impact do something else first: they slow down to understand before they act.

Why the first 100 days matter

The first months are not just an onboarding period but a transition window for both the leader and the organisation. Decisions that are made too early, without sufficient understanding of customers, pipeline, people, and commercial mechanics, very often reduce trust and create misalignment rather than momentum.

As a matter of fact, studies show that nearly 40% of senior executives fail within 18 months – most often because they act before they fully understand the organisation.¹

Used deliberately, the first 100 days can become a way to earn mandate, build credibility, and create clarity around what truly deserves focus.

¹ Bo, Lars. De første 100 dage. Gyldendal, 2018.

Whitepaper: The first 100 days as a CCO

About the whitepaper

This whitepaper outlines a pragmatic, commercial-first approach to the first 100 days, structured around three core elements:

1. Understanding the commercial organisation
2. Using the transition window deliberately
3. Preparing for execution – not rushing into it

Throughout, the paper combines standard commercial focus areas with a structured self-assessment, helping leaders understand their own strengths and gaps and use that insight to shape priorities, team setup, and decision-making.

The perspective is relevant not only for newly appointed CCOs, but also for experienced commercial leaders entering a new context – for example, following a restructuring, a strategic shift, or when a focused reset of the commercial organisation is needed.

Download the whitepaper to explore how to structure the first 100 days as a commercial leader — with clarity, discipline, and long-term intent.

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