When Walgreens Boots Alliance decided to hold Ken Murphy to the terms of his contract, the CEO-elect of Tesco found he would have to wait a full year before taking up the reins. While this may be frustrating on one level, the delay will provide him with plenty of time to prepare to hit the ground running on October 1.

If you are hired into a senior leadership role in retail it pays to use whatever time you have to prepare well, even if it is just a few weeks. No two CEOs will approach the countdown period in the same way.