Section 04

100-Day Plan

Version 2.0. Governing philosophy: under-promise, over-deliver, build to last. What I will do, what I will not do, and why.

"The first 100 days are not for delivering results. They are for earning the right to deliver results."
The Four Phases
Phase 0
Pre-Start (Appointment → Day 1)
The gap between appointment and Day 1 is not dead time.
  • →Read every board pack, investor report, and management account from the last 24 months
  • →Review all employment contracts, supplier agreements, and financing facilities
  • →Map the organisational chart and identify the 5–7 people whose trust I must earn first
  • →Understand the collections data at the transaction level — not the summary
  • →Brief myself on Anuva's investment thesis, IRR expectations, and exit timeline
  • →Prepare the Week 1 listening schedule — every direct report, every key employer, every key creditor
Phase 1
Days 1–30: Listen, Learn, Earn Trust
No announcements. No restructuring. No strategy. Only listening.
  • →GE/Ulrich New Leader Assimilation — structured team session in Month 2 (Day 50–55)
  • →1:1 with every direct report: what is working, what is not, what do you need from me
  • →Visit every major employer partner — understand the relationship from their side
  • →Collections deep-dive: transaction-level data, root cause hypothesis, not conclusions
  • →Board introduction — understand the governance expectations and reporting cadence
  • →Anuva relationship — understand the investment thesis and exit timeline in detail
  • →Week 4 deliverable: Diagnostic Hypothesis (internal only — not a strategy announcement)
Phase 2
Days 31–60: Diagnose, Validate, Prioritise
Root cause confirmed. Priorities agreed. Quick wins identified.
  • →Collections root cause confirmed — system, process, or people (or all three)
  • →Employer acquisition pipeline assessed — current state, gap to target, capability requirements
  • →Technology stack assessed — what is blocking scale, what is the minimum viable investment
  • →Team capability assessed — who is performing, who needs support, who needs replacing
  • →Financial model validated — actual vs budget, key variances explained
  • →Day 60 deliverable: Priorities Agreed with the Board (3 things, not 10)
Phase 3
Days 61–100: Execute, Measure, Report
Execute the three agreed priorities. Measure everything. Report transparently.
  • →Collections fix: root cause addressed, early warning system live, weekly tracking in place
  • →Employer acquisition: pipeline built, CVP by tier defined, first new employer signed
  • →Operating rhythm: weekly P&L review, monthly board report, quarterly investor update
  • →Day 100 deliverable: Progress Report to the Board — what was committed, what was delivered
What I Will NOT Do

Constraints are not weakness. They are discipline.

The most dangerous thing a new CEO can do is act before they understand. These six constraints are not limitations — they are the evidence that I have done this before.

✕Announce a new strategy before Day 60 — strategy without diagnosis is guesswork
✕Restructure the team before Day 60 — people decisions made without data are unfair and risky
✕Commit to specific growth numbers before Day 60 — targets set before the diagnostic are arbitrary
✕Bypass the board on material decisions — governance is not a constraint, it is a discipline
✕Hire externally before assessing internal capability — the best people may already be here
✕Change the employer CVP before understanding why it is working — if it is not broken, do not fix it
Risk Register

Six risks. Named, assessed, and mitigated.

Collections root cause is structural, not operational
L: MediumI: High
Mitigation: Phased diagnostic — hypothesis in Week 4, validation in Week 8, not Week 1
Key team member departs in the first 90 days
L: MediumI: High
Mitigation: GE/Ulrich assimilation in Month 2 (Day 50–55) specifically designed to reduce this risk
Anuva's exit timeline is shorter than disclosed
L: LowI: High
Mitigation: Explicit conversation with Anuva in Week 1 — no assumptions about timeline
Employer partner dissatisfaction with leadership transition
L: LowI: Medium
Mitigation: Personal visits to every major employer in Days 1–30
Technology investment required is larger than budgeted
L: MediumI: Medium
Mitigation: Phased technology investment — collections dashboard first, platform later
Collections problem is people, not system
L: MediumI: Medium
Mitigation: People assessment in Days 31–60 — not before, not after
3-Year Vision — Three Scenarios

Not a single target. Three scenarios with explicit assumptions.

Specific growth targets on Day 1 are a red flag, not a green one. They signal that the candidate has not done the diagnostic. These three scenarios are built on explicit assumptions — the assumptions will be validated or revised during the 100-day diagnostic.

Base Case
18,000
contracts
R220m
rental book
90%
collections

Collections fix delivers 90% ratio. Employer acquisition adds 5,000 contracts per year. No adjacent revenue.

Realistic Case
28,000
contracts
R320m
rental book
93%
collections

Collections fix delivers 93% ratio. Employer acquisition adds 8,000 contracts per year. Adjacent revenue adds 10% ARPU.

Stretch Case
40,000
contracts
R420m
rental book
95%
collections

Collections fix delivers 95% ratio. Employer acquisition adds 12,000 contracts per year. Adjacent revenue adds 20% ARPU. New product launch in Year 2.