An operating partner's primary goal in the first six months is not to implement a rigid plan, but to foster curiosity and human connection. This builds the relationships and deep understanding necessary to tackle the right, high-impact projects later on.

Don't relegate strategic planning solely to the C-suite. Alliance managers are on the front lines and often detect market trends before senior leadership. Involving them in the strategy process provides invaluable, real-time insights for a more nimble and sustainable business.

When starting a new partnerships role, resist the pressure to show immediate results. Spend the first 90 days on a listening tour with internal teams and external partners to identify systemic patterns and root causes, rather than applying superficial 'Band-Aid' solutions.

In your first 90 days, resist the urge to be the expert. Instead, conduct a "listening tour" by treating the organization as a product you're researching. Ask questions to understand how work gets done, what success looks like, and what challenges exist at a systemic level.

Instead of letting new hires spend months learning the ropes, aim for them to be organizationally competent in three days. This forces the company to meticulously document all processes, roles, and assets in a central place like Notion, eradicating inefficient "tribal knowledge" and accelerating a new team member's impact.

To harness new ideas without causing chaos, mandate that new employees first learn and execute tasks the established way. This forces them to understand hidden dependencies and workflows they can't see initially. Only after mastering the current system can they suggest meaningful, context-aware improvements.

When a new leader joins, the immediate pressure is to deliver results. However, the most effective first step is to 'wander'—to observe, listen, and deeply understand the existing environment and power dynamics before trying to implement change.

The first six months are critical for a senior hire who has skills but lacks internal network and company knowledge. New leaders must prioritize finding a supportive manager and shipping a small project quickly to learn the organizational mechanics, rather than assuming their experience is enough.

In industries like hospitality tech where business is built on relationships and customization, a new leader's first 90 days are best spent with customers. Innovation stems from deeply understanding their unique needs, not from optimizing internal processes or applying a one-size-fits-all 80/20 rule.