Justin King and Sir Stuart Rose’s lessons for Marc Bolland

Have you ever wondered how Fabio Capello felt when millions of devoted football fans saw him become manager of the England team?

I’m not sure if anyone has researched how long a football manager has to prove himself in his new role but, according to Michael Watkins, the respected associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, chief executives get just 90 days.

With Marc Bolland soon to start at M&S, he’ll be aware more than anyone else how much he has got to prove. So how should he proceed?

New leaders face many challenges, and the bigger, more complex and faster paced the organisation is, the greater the learning curve will be. Periods of transition are critical and leaders can be both at their most vulnerable and at their most effective in those first few months.

While boards will appoint seasoned chief executives - often from competitor companies - hoping to make the transition smooth, regardless of where they come from, new leaders will always lack the detailed knowledge of the company and the network and relationships inside the organisation to support and sustain them.

In my opinion, Justin King’s first three months at Sainsbury’s provide a text book example of how a chief executive can profit best from those early days. Before he even joined the company he went on a world tour to research best-in-class supermarkets, ensuring that he met the leaders of those companies.

In his first few months as chief executive, he had visited all of Sainsbury’s stores and met every store manager. Talking to the people on the shopfloor and to customers, he established himself as a stores-focused leader and gained credibility both inside and outside the business. He then galvanised the whole organisation, celebrating and promoting the great people within the company and bolstering it with talent from the outside.

After this period he hired his first heavy-hitting team member, Mike Coupe, in a similar way to when Stuart Rose was parachuted

into M&S and brought three key lieutenants - Charles Wilson, Keith Cameron and Steve Sharp - producing a ready-made world-class team.

For a chief executive, failure to create momentum when they first join a company virtually guarantees an uphill battle for the rest of their time in the post. After all, the role of chief executive is a lonely one, especially in a new company - and even more so if you are changing sector.

What surprises me is that many new chief executives still fail. Perhaps it is because they did not have a plan, did not bring in allies fast enough or failed to understand what was going on the ground. Act like King and Rose, and you set yourself up for success.

Marc Bolland’s arrival at M&S in May will be watched very closely by media, analysts and industry leaders. There will be those who are sceptical about his lack of general merchandise knowledge and others who will be excited after his success at Morrisons. I for one will most certainly be watching.

Moira Benigson is managing partner of MBS Group