Mr Obama enters office facing some tough choices, as do many chief executives, which is why they, too, often have 100-day action plans.
Incoming business chiefs often face pressure from the press, markets and employees, but 100-day plans are usually a mistake. Unless the company faces bankruptcy, it is a bad idea to do much in the first 100 days.
There are others urging new chief executives to get cracking. In The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan, US “transition consultants” George Bradt, Jayme Check and Jorge Pedraza say that “in today's environment, almost all leadership transitions are ‘hot landings' where you must hit the ground running”.