The First Ninety Days: Plan Versus Reality

Abigail: Day 1 to Day 30: Listening and Assessing Processes.
Scott: [Note from Day 90]: We spent the first month drowning in unorganized paperwork instead of listening.
Abigail: During my first thirty days as the new operations manager at Smoky Mountain Freight in Knoxville, my primary goal is to inherit a team and understand their daily struggles.
Scott: [Note from Day 90]: You definitely inherited a stressed-out team, especially after our predecessor left without any handover notes.
Abigail: I plan to conduct extensive stakeholder interviews with every single dispatcher and carrier sales rep in the office.
Kyle: [Note from Day 90]: The interviews took twice as long because everyone was too busy dealing with angry drivers.
Abigail: We are going to map out every standard operating procedure to identify major bottlenecks in our freight booking workflow.
Scott: [Note from Day 90]: The biggest bottleneck was our outdated software, which crashed every time we ran a rate review.
Abigail: Day 31 to Day 60: Implementing Quick Wins and Restructuring.
Kyle: [Note from Day 90]: Our quick wins mostly consisted of throwing out old coffee mugs and fixing the office printer.
Abigail: I will introduce change gradually so that nobody feels overwhelmed by the new structure and reporting lines.
Scott: [Note from Day 90]: There was still plenty of resistance to change from the evening dispatch crew.
Abigail: We will eliminate underpriced lanes and stop letting brokers change rates after booking without our explicit written consent.
Kyle: [Note from Day 90]: This rule saved us thousands of dollars on several losing lanes during week seven.
Abigail: Day 61 to Day 90: Measuring Early Results and Earning Trust.
Scott: [Note from Day 90]: Team morale improved dramatically once drivers realized we wouldn't micromanage them anymore.
Abigail: By the end of this quarter, we are bound to report significant improvements in our overall fleet efficiency to the company owner.
Kyle: [Note from Day 90]: We did report great numbers, and Abigail actually earned our complete trust by backing us up against difficult brokers.

Read again and choose the right answer

What was Abigail's primary goal during the first thirty days?

• To fire half of the dispatch team
• To inherit a team and understand daily struggles
• To move the office to another state

According to Scott's Day 90 note, what was the biggest bottleneck in their workflow?

• The outdated software that crashed during rate reviews
• Not having enough trucks in the fleet
• The lack of coffee in the breakroom

What specific operational change helped save the company money during week seven?

• Lowering driver pay across all lanes
• Stopping brokers from changing rates after booking without consent
• Accepting more long-distance freight contracts

How did team morale change by the end of the 90-day period?

• It improved dramatically once drivers stopped being micromanaged
• It got worse because of strict new rules
• It stayed exactly the same as before

Sources: photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels