Secret Mission Transparency: The 30-60-90 Plan
Structured timelines can finally bring your secret mission out of your head—and into real-world results.
So, you’ve recognized your “secret mission” (a.k.a. that hidden grand vision you never told anyone about). Congratulations! You’re in good company.
But how do you turn your hush-hush dream into something your staff actually executes, without waiting six months just to conclude, “They’re not the right fit—and they had no clue what I really wanted anyway”?
Enter the 30-60-90-day plan: the founder’s cheat code for clarity, accountability, and guilt-free early dismissals if things go south.
1. It’s All About Milestones
I first stumbled onto 30-60-90 planning in a CEO peer-sharing group (the kind where everyone’s complaining about bad hires and nobody’s sure if they gave said hire a real chance).
One CEO, exasperated for the fourth time, was lamenting how they knew it was the wrong fit but felt obligated to give the person “more time.” Another asked, “Are you sure you even told them the real deliverables from the start?”
Cue facepalms all around.
Lightbulb moment: Instead of winging it for six months, we can define milestones at 30 days (a real-time orientation check), 60 days (they’ve found the coffee pot by now), and 90 days (time to see if they can handle the big stuff).
If they can’t, at least you know you were transparent. No more “I guess we’ll wait and see.” Because you’ve already seen.
2. Breaking Down the Secret Mission, One Month at a Time
A 30-60-90 plan basically says, “Here’s exactly what ‘good’ looks like for your first three months.”
Suddenly, that hush-hush mission you never spelled out is on paper, with milestones that show whether they’re on track or off the rails. Here’s what it usually looks like:
A) The First 30 Days: Learning Mode
Super-detailed orientation: Who they should meet, systems they must master, and basic competency checks.
Example: “Meet Bob in IT, learn how to log into Slack without calling the Help Desk, understand our core product line.”
Hidden bonus: You start revealing part of the mission: “We do X because we plan on eventually dominating Y—so be aware that’s our lens.”
B) The Next 60 Days: Let’s See Some Skill
By now, they’re comfortable enough to really dig in. Give them moderate tasks that align closer to your big goals.
Example: “Evaluate and propose improvements for our UI,” or “Sit down with our notoriously difficult team lead (yes, we have one) to collaborate on a mini-project.”
If they’re going to blow up, better in the second month than the ninth year. Also, it’s a great time for them to see your leadership style—especially if that style is, “I want daily feedback on whether we’re heading toward world domination.”
C) The Final 30 Days: The ‘Show Us Your Magic’ Phase
Now you get to see if they can operate with less hand-holding. Are they championing tasks without you micromanaging?
Let them test big projects that require creative thinking: “Here’s the ambiguous problem; come back with solutions.”
By day 90, you want to know: “Can they tackle the real secret mission?” or do they prefer fiddling with spreadsheets while ignoring your ambition to conquer an entire sector?
3. A Real-Life Example of 30-60-90
We hired someone to build a new portal. Two years in, nothing was delivered—just vague prototypes and endless color swatches. My frustration was off the charts: “Why won’t they ship?!”
Finally, we sat down and mapped a 30-60-90 with crystal-clear objectives:
30 days: Create a UI/UX standard guide and define color/menu consistency.
60 days: Implement that guide across one real module.
90 days: Deliver a fully tested feature that meets the new standard.
When we showed them these milestones, they stared wide-eyed: “I had no idea you expected all of this.”
Within 90 days, they were nailing it, deploying a polished product.
Turns out they thought they were just meant to “explore” potential designs. So, they kept exploring, playing around with concepts. Once they had a road map, they performed like a champ and remain a top contributor to this day.
Whoops. Coulda saved two years of floundering if we’d done that on day one.
4. Toolkit & Templates: Build Your Own 30-60-90
Here’s a straightforward template:
30 Days
Orientation: People to meet, systems to learn, relevant Slack channels, coffee pot location (critical).
Success Criteria: They can log in everywhere, understand the project’s overarching goals, and have a baseline of your secret mission.
Deliverable: A short check-in meeting or a small research/report task that proves they get it.
2. 60 Days
Project Involvement: Assign them a real piece of your mission—like an improvement or mini-deliverable that tests core competencies.
Communication: Evaluate how they handle tough convos (the “meet the difficult coworker” challenge).
Success Criteria: They’re actively contributing solutions, not just absorbing info. Possibly building or prototyping something tangible.
3. 90 Days
Semi-Independence: Looser guidelines, more ambiguous tasks that require judgement.
Critical Fit Check: If they can handle this chaos, they can probably handle your big plan. If not, you can mutually part ways, guilt-free.
Success Criteria: They show initiative, demonstrate skill, and reflect a real capacity to tackle your deeper dream.
Pro tip:
Adapt these for your domain. If you’re a startup, you might compress it to a frantic “10-20-30” plan. If you’re a big corporate labyrinth, maybe 45-90-180. The point is to be explicit about each phase.
Access the toolkit and templates here.
Why 30-60-90 Plans Matter
Accountability: You—and your new hire—both know exactly what success looks like at each milestone. No more six-month “I think I gave them a fair shot?” doubts.
Transparency: Instead of waiting for them to guess your secret plan, you can gradually reveal it in manageable chunks—so they’re not blindsided (or running for the exit).
Speedy Alignment: If they’re not cut out for the role, you’ll see it sooner and can gracefully free them to find a better fit (rather than dragging it out miserably).
Bottom line: The 30-60-90 approach ensures your hush-hush mission isn’t hush-hush forever. You’re converting wishful thinking into real, measurable tasks. And if the new hire thrives, great. If not, you both move on. Win-win.
Wrapping Up
Yes, you can recruit someone and keep them out of the meltdown zone. Just give them a structured map and reveal bits of your big ambition—like, “We’re not just building a small portal; we aim to transform the entire credit union infrastructure.”
Done right, a 30-60-90 plan is a clear map for lost employees, saving them from wandering endlessly in secret-mission land.
So next time you catch yourself saying, “But it’s obvious they should know X!”—ask yourself if you’ve spelled it out in the first 30 days. If not, break out a spreadsheet, open a doc, or scribble on that same Starbucks napkin. Because clarity now beats confusion six months later. Trust me, your future self will thank you.
Next up, we’ll talk about how to differentiate “the job” from “the mission,” and how to evaluate if someone really “GWC” (Gets it, Wants it, Capacity to do it).
Because, spoiler alert: just because they can fill a seat doesn’t mean they can fulfill your hush-hush dream. Let’s make sure they’re in it for the real game.
Disruption with a side of humor—
Kirk Drake
