By Neill Marshall, Chairman, HealthSearch Partners
In this installment of our First 90 Day series, I’m going to get personal. When we talk about setting the tone in the first 90 days, few leaders I’ve ever met got it more right than my very first boss—Grover Martin. It was 1984.
I had just graduated from Texas A&M and taken a trainee job with Ferguson Enterprises, selling valves, fittings, and plumbing supplies. My best friend and I packed a U-Haul and drove 24 hours to Orlando, Florida, excited to start our careers.
At first, everything was moving fast. We were learning the warehouse, answering phones, and starting to grasp the business. Then, our original branch manager got fired—and Ferguson sent in Grover Martin to turn the operation around. At that point, my professional life changed forever.
How Grover Set The Tone In His First 90 Days
1. He embraced the young backbone of the team.
Instead of pushing trainees to the side, Grover pulled us closer. He saw we were hungry, aggressive, and eager to prove ourselves—and he made us feel like we mattered.
2. He made it personal.
That first Thanksgiving, when we couldn’t travel home, Grover invited me and my roommate to spend the holiday with him and his wife. He rolled out the red carpet. They didn’t treat us like employees, they treated us like family. It made a lasting impression that remains with me today.
3. He picked up the trash.
On his very first day, Grover got out of his car and started picking up trash in the parking lot—not angrily, not performatively. Just quietly doing what needed to be done. From that day forward, all of us trainees made sure there wasn’t a scrap of paper on the lot when Grover showed up. He never had to pick up another piece of trash. He didn’t lecture us. He led us.
4. He answered the phone—and changed the culture in one move.
As trainees, it was our job to take contractor orders over the phone—quickly, efficiently, and professionally. One day, the phone rang. A few of us were goofing off, slow to react.
Grover, without saying a word, calmly walked over, picked up the phone, and said: “Ferguson Enterprises, this is Grover. Can I help you?”
We were stunned—and embarrassed. After that, it became an unspoken rule: Grover would never have to answer the phone again. One of the guys who had barely moved when the phone rang initially became a human missile. He would literally dive across desks and tackle the receiver before Grover could even stand up.
It sounds funny, but it was serious: we had been shown the standard. We weren’t going to let Grover down again.
Why Grover’s Approach Worked
Grover didn’t deliver some grand first-day speech. He didn’t set new policies or rules posted in the breakroom. Rather, he showed us the standard and we rose to meet it.
Respect wasn’t demanded. It was earned.
Loyalty wasn’t expected. It was built.
We didn’t follow him because we had to. We followed him because we wanted to.
Can Hospital Leaders Use Grover’s Approach?
Absolutely.
Imagine a hospital CEO who, in their first 90 days:
- Picks up the forgotten coffee cup in the hallway.
- Changes a lightbulb in a waiting room.
- Jumps into a front-line task if a nurse call button rings and no one answers.
- Personally thanks the overnight cleaning crew.
- Takes the initiative to allow people to get to know him or her.
No formal announcement is needed. There is no big rollout plan. These are just small actions that set a high standard from day one—actions that make the team want to follow, not have to follow.
Grover’s First 90 Days Playbook
- Act, don’t announce.
- Lead quietly but visibly.
- Build loyalty through respect, not rules.
It’s the best leadership training I have ever received—and I learned it before I even knew what a “leadership tactic” was.
Stay tuned for more insights as we continue exploring the innovative tactics used by business leaders to make their first 90 days count.
If you have adopted these tactics, or any others featured in this series, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us to share your story.
Neill Marshall, Chairman
HealthSearch Partners
