Top 7 Justinisms For Use Toward Professional Success

“Why buy the oranges when the juice is free” – This is one of my favorite points in business. In short, why would you expend capital for benefits when you can capitalize on the benefits of another contact? This axiom can be stated alternatively as “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Whether it be in managerial talent, strategic planning, advertising expenditure, or any other area of operations, a good way to compete and win is to focus on the environment and take advantage of any byproducts of current operations such as taking advantage of a partner’s or client’s expenditures on advertising.
“The Destination May Not Be as Important as the Journey” – Often, many professionals are so consumed by reaching the “end” that they often lose sight of the “means”. As a professional in industry, what one learns on the route to a destination, whether it is with regard to procuring a contract, reaching a deadline, or providing the best possible service to a client, is critical to future success and viability. One should always focus on what has been learned along the way in order to incorporate such activities into future endeavors.
Performing business activities is a key means to learning and improving. By observing during the completion process, it is possible to conduct “micro-improvements” early in the process which may avoid “macro disasters” later on. Continuous Improvement is a popular mantra of business and should be recognized and pursued by professionals at all levels and in all sizes of firms in virtually every sector of the economy.
“Who Am I?” – Something that I have noticed during this ongoing period in my career is that many times, people tend to lose sight of who they really are. While it is acceptable to “Be Corporate” or to believe in “the Team”, one should always step back from any given business situation and assess issues, activities, problems, and situations from one’s own personal and ethical perspective. I think that given recent events at several Accounting Firms and some of the world’s largest companies, that in these cases, people simply forgot who they really were and what the better part of virtue would tell them to do.
"Learn to Make a Deal" – A common issues I find in industry and particularly with young professionals (such as myself), is that young managers do not lean on the power of the deal as much as they should. The “Deal” is a beautiful thing when used properly. Remember, that just because you may not have the funds, infrastructure, or other capital to take on an objective, this doesn’t mean that you can’t bargain in order to obtain the means to the end. My advice here is to try to find a symbiotic solution in which all parties benefit.
For example, if your venture needs PCs, seek out a trial agreement with a producer/manufacturer such as HP or Dell. One could then make the proposition that if the producer/manufacturer would be willing to “loan” the venture equipment for 90 Days per an agreement designed to favor the producer/manufacturer, then once could further suggest that in exchange for the equipment, the venture will begin paying for the equipment once the 90 Day period expires and the venture will promote the producer’s/manufacturer’s equipment when conducting business in exchange for the hospitality.
"Learn to Make a Deal" – A common issues I find in industry and particularly with young professionals (such as myself), is that young managers do not lean on the power of the deal as much as they should. The “Deal” is a beautiful thing when used properly. Remember, that just because you may not have the funds, infrastructure, or other capital to take on an objective, this doesn’t mean that you can’t bargain in order to obtain the means to the end. My advice here is to try to find a symbiotic solution in which all parties benefit.
For example, if your venture needs PCs, seek out a trial agreement with a producer/manufacturer such as HP or Dell. One could then make the proposition that if the producer/manufacturer would be willing to “loan” the venture equipment for 90 Days per an agreement designed to favor the producer/manufacturer, then once could further suggest that in exchange for the equipment, the venture will begin paying for the equipment once the 90 Day period expires and the venture will promote the producer’s/manufacturer’s equipment when conducting business in exchange for the hospitality.
“What is a company?” – During my final year of college, I asked myself, when taking the capstone course for my undergrad studies, “What is a company?” As tends to be the case in academia, I probably would have answered the question with a textbook definition related to the legalities, business model, and industry metrics related to “Firm X”. However, as I moved into graduate studies and further into the corporate sphere, I realized that a company, at its core, is people, people with responsibilities, tasks to complete, and a role to play I day-to-day operations.
This may sound cliché but it is often overlooked. It is very important to identify the difference between what a company “is” and what it “does”. When one realizes that a company “is” people, this places the task of managing firm operations into a very distinct perspective. I believe, from my own experiences, making this distinction truly yields greater returns to the firm in the form of both growth and success, but also in the form of a much more cohesive working environment.
“Do you hear that?” – Something that has surfaced on several occasions during my career is a situation in which management personnel do not “listen” to subordinates. Often, personnel members are trying to tell superiors something that is not inherent. Whether it is in reference to a business initiative or professional conduct, managerial personnel should respect and consider the opinions and remarks of subordinates.
It is important to remember that people are hired by firms for a reason and if hired personnel are not able to focus on the initiatives and/or tasks that they were hired to carry out, this may cause a substantial decrease in corporate morale and a general downturn in operational capacity, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Justin Gates, MBA

Special Projects Manager

United Information Technologies

Top 7 "Justinisms" For Use Toward Professional Success