{"podcast":{"title":"Fit Happens: Why CEOs and Leaders Succeed or Fail","slug":"fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405","podcast_index_feed_id":7795405,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/gACIuRL7b7JSP4dtyitL00UT6qf9BTU7KbE36WYw6Fs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yNTdl/MDY2MDQyMDAzMmFk/MWIzNjMwMzMwZjFh/NTRmMS5wbmc.jpg","author":"Andy Milad","episode_count":26,"summary":"Why do talented leaders fail in one role and thrive in the next? Jason Baumgarten has led hundreds of Board, CEO and c-suite transitions at Spencer Stuart. He covers CEO succession, how boards hire a CEO, and shares leadership research alongside candid opinions about leadership and governance. His guests include CEOs, Board Directors, Researchers, Authors and unique executives who share their own observations about leadership but also their own lessons and life stories. Jason covers everything from the impact of technology and AI on leaders to the personal toll and stress of leadership. Every episode brings new lessons, fresh perspectives and a glimpse into a leader’s story.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-25T00:17:11.274712+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405"},"episode":{"title":"The 100 Day Plan Is a Lie. Here's What Actually Works for new CEOs","slug":"the-100-day-plan-is-a-lie-here-s-what-actually-works","published_at":"2026-07-30T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405/the-100-day-plan-is-a-lie-here-s-what-actually-works","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/c6f5c14e","audio_url":"https://op3.dev/e/media.transistor.fm/c6f5c14e/36377454.mp3","summary":"A new CEO's hundred day plan sounds smart. The research says it's mostly fiction. In this solo episode, Jason Baumgarten traces the hundred day myth back to its real origin (FDR's 1933 Congress, not leadership research) and explains why boards keep asking a question that sets new leaders up to fail. Drawing on research into CEO transitions, he lays out five separate \"clocks\" (strategic, socialization, team, cultural, and performance) that all move at different speeds, and why compressing them into one sprint produces theatrical reorgs, rushed strategy, and boards misjudging leaders in both directions. Key takeaways: The hundred day plan comes from politics, not leadership research Shareholders reported it takes 19 months for a CEO's decisions to show up in share price A leader's first year of results is often driven by their predecessor's work, not their own Five clocks run at different speeds: strategic, socialization, team, cultural, and performance Onboarding language wrongly frames a CEO as someone who should assimilate into the system Boards should separate diagnostic milestones from impact milestones Leaders should replace urgency with sequencing, and negotiate time horizons explicitly with the board Real transitions take closer to two to three years, not 100 days Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonbaumgarten/ Email the show here: jason@fithappens.fm 00:00 Intro: Fit Happens 00:17 The real timeline for CEO impact 01:06 Where the hundred day myth started 02:06 Why the myth stuck around 03:26 What the research actually shows 04:36 19 months, 14 months, 9 months 05:13 Context shapes every transition 05:50 Five different clocks explained 06:12 The strategic clock 06:41 The socialization clock 07:08 The team clock 07:34 The cultural clock 07:58 The p…","meta_description":"A new CEO's hundred day plan sounds smart. The research says it's mostly fiction. In this solo episode, Jason Baumgarten traces the hundred day myth back…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1111,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405/episodes/the-100-day-plan-is-a-lie-here-s-what-actually-works/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fit-happens-the-executive-search-podcast-7795405/the-100-day-plan-is-a-lie-here-s-what-actually-works.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}