The Last 90 Days at a Company
Stay, move internally, or leave — three valid outcomes of one managed transition
Slide contents
1. The Last 90 Days at a Company
Stay, move internally, or leave — three valid outcomes of one managed transition
2. They start before you give notice
Evidence, options, and conversations come before the irreversible move
3. And they may not be your last
Stay, move internally, or leave — while testing the market in parallel
4. First understand what is actually wrong
Work, environment, impact, growth, terms, and meaning are different diagnoses
5. Don’t decide after one bad week
Look for a recurring pattern, not the loudest episode
6. −90. Days −90…−61
Understand what is actually wrong and describe the work you want
7. Keep an energy log, not complaints
Activity · context · engagement · energy afterward
8. Separate the problem from an immovable constraint
Run experiments on solvable problems; accept or route around fixed constraints
9. Break work into tasks, relationships, and meaning
You can reshape task boundaries, relationships, and the meaning of work
10. Check autonomy, competence, and relatedness
Three needs diagnose more precisely than “I lack motivation”
11. Reflect on your path, not your titles
Decisions · turning points · mastered scale · recurring themes
12. Gather evidence of contribution and growth
Outcome · your role · feedback · what you learned
13. Describe the next role through responsibility
What to own, which decisions to make, and what outcomes to create
14. Align the role with your development plan
Next year · next scale · long professional arc
15. −60. Days −60…−31
Test the options, choose an outcome, and start mapping responsibility
16. Quitting is not the first move
Test whether the work can change faster and at lower cost
17. Four moves before you resign
Move from the most reversible option to the least reversible
18. Look for a problem, not a vacancy
Strategic tensions appear before a formal opening
19. Run informational interviews, not job requests
Context · tension · cost of inaction · needed responsibility
20. Prototype the role before transferring
Project, review, working group, acting assignment, or shadow role
21. An internal move often benefits both sides
The company retains context; the person takes on a new scale
22. Establish a new mutual contract
Outcomes · authority · resources · constraints · evidence
23. The company is being interviewed too
Willingness to grant a mandate matters more than an attractive opportunity
24. An external search can run in parallel
The market calibrates the role without undermining current work
25. Search by responsibility, not by title
Filter by the next scale of work, not a familiar label
26. The interview still runs both ways
You show how you work; the company reveals the real system
27. Decision point: stay, move internally, or leave
Common criteria, explicit evidence, and a preselected date
28. Begin the next 90 days early
Research and the next role’s contract begin before you leave
29. Every outcome needs a transition
Even if you stay, the old contract must close
30. Map everything you actually own
Decisions · commitments · people · cadences · risks · access
31. −30. Days −30…0
Communicate, transfer control, and maintain boundaries
32. Communicate in the right sequence
Manager → key people → team → broader audience
33. After notice, you advise — you don’t own
The new owner decides; you contribute context
34. Every area: an owner and next step
Owner · state · next decision · review date
35. Transfer decision rights first
The new owner must decide before you disappear
36. Then transfer context, cadences, relationships, and access
Decisions work only inside a living operating system
37. A document is not transferred knowledge
Explain · demonstrate · let them act · verify understanding
38. Finish, hand over, or stop
Do not leave your successor a museum of unfinished work
39. Leaving well doesn’t mean managing from outside
Agree on the channel, timebox, and question types after exit
40. The last 90 days are the first 90 of your next role
Longread: https://polomodov.tech/en/2026-08-03-last-90-days-in-company/
The CTO’s First 90 Days — article: https://polomodov.tech/en/2026-07-31-first-90-days-cto/
The CTO’s First 90 Days — deck: https://polomodov.tech/en/2026-09-03-first-90-days-cto/