Origins of first 100 days

Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR) had his inauguration as President of America on 4th  March 1933. It occurred in the middle of a terrifying bank panic. Historian Arthur Schlesinger described the mood at FDR's inauguration: "It was now a matter of seeing whether a representative democracy could conquer economic collapse. It was a matter of staving off violence - even, some thought - revolution."

Nearly 13 million people in the US - one in four - were jobless. Nineteen million people depended upon meagre relief payments to survive. Workers lucky enough to have jobs earned, on average, only two-thirds what they made at the start of the Depression in 1929. Many of those who had money lost it: four thousand banks collapsed in the first two months of 1933. So great was the emergency, some urged dictatorial powers, but FDR rejected the suspension of constitutional government. Instead he embarked on a plan of "Action, and Action Now" to meet this vast crisis. The speed and scope of his actions were unprecedented.

FDR’s legendary "First 100 Days" concentrated on the first part of his strategy: immediate relief. He successfully prevented a run on the banks by immediately declaring a "bank holiday," closing all banks indefinitely until bankers and government could regain control of the situation. From March 9 to June 16, 1933, FDR sent Congress a record number of bills, all of which passed easily. The second part of his strategy was to provide long-lasting reform to the nation's economy. The First 100 Days was important because it got the New Deal off to a strong and early start, resulting in many essential programs taken for granted in the US today.

Many later presidents have used the "First 100 Days" as a measure against which to mobilize their own administrations. But none has succeeded in achieving FDR's legislative agenda. In less than four months the economy was stabilized, homes and farms were saved from foreclosure, and massive relief and work programs addressed the dire needs of the people. Most important, the First 100 Days restored hope and, in the process, preserved democratic government in the United States.

See any interesting parallels between FDR and the challenges that faced President Barack Obama in his first 100 days in office? Faced with considerable pressure to get the American economy and the global economy back on track, it was worth noting that one of his first actions as President Elect was to announce his Two Year Plan - hitting the ground running so fast that even though there can only be one American president at a time, he had to demonstrate a fast start months ahead of official day one.

Your first 100 days content will not be as dramatic as that of FDR or President Barack Obama.

Nonetheless, leaders in today's high performance corporate organisations do find themselves in extremely pressurised situations and need to be able to step up with speed.