Paul,
I enjoyed your article and believe that you covered important points at a very high level.  Structuring meet and greets in the first 30 days with key stakeholders and leaders in an organization should be something that the new leader approaches as a structured interview style.  It has helped me in several situations especially in complex, highly matrixed organizations.  The other important thing that the new leader should remember is to trust their gut.  Trust but verify should be a 60 day assignment.
Thanks for taking the time to write down a template.
KG