Several times in my career, I’ve joined a team whose work was already well under way, where I had a massive knowledge deficit, and didn’t have pre-existing relationships. None of those excuses relieved me from the pressure I felt to establish myself and contribute. Over time, I realized that the natural instinct to push for early impact leads many incoming leaders into challenging relationships as they expose their knowledge deficit and waste time. So, I developed an algorithm that has helped me ramp up quickly — and in several cases — have an impact in a relatively short period of time, while minimizing collateral damage. - Start Algorithm

The first step is to find someone on the team and ask for 30 minutes with them. In that meeting you have a simple agenda:

• For the first 25 minutes: ask them to tell you everything they think you should know. Take copious notes. Only stop them to ask about things you don’t understand. Always stop them to ask about things you don’t understand.
• For the next 3 minutes: ask about the biggest challenges the team has right now.
• In the final 2 minutes: ask who else you should talk to. Write down every name they give you.

Repeat the above process for every name you’re given. Don’t stop until there are no new names.