THE PREFACE
Justina Chen composed her first 50-page novella in the second grade. So enrolling in a writing class her freshman year at Stanford seemed like the obvious choice, until it wasn’t.
“My professor told me I had no talent and that I was never going to be published,” says Justina.
“So I believed him and majored in econ instead, then interviewed when Microsoft came into town.”
About five years into a product management career, she realized her role would not allow her to be the mother she wanted to be. Justina left Microsoft and decided to try her hand again at writing.
From there, the stars began to align. Justina says facing racism with her kids was a major turning point in her writing career. During a trip to the Children’s Museum with her six and eight year-olds, a group of teenagers surrounded and mocked her mixed-race family. Reflecting on the incident the next day, Justina inadvertently developed a character for a new book.
“The girl who started talking to me during my morning run was a mixed-race girl, ‘Hi! I’m Patty Ho. Ironic my last name, I can’t even get a date to the prom!’” Justina remembers.
Justina wrote down everything ‘the girl in her head’ said. This content grew into her first chapter when she received a call from one of the best children’s book literary agents. In just a month, her new agent had 5 publishing houses in New York bidding in an auction to publish her first two novels. Today, Justina has published 5 novels with a sixth in the works.
“You’re going to be told you’re not smart enough, you’re not good enough, you’re not fast enough,” says Justina. “At some point you have to believe; you know what? I AM enough- and then you go for your dream.”
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THE NEXT CHAPTER
Justina’s life took a turn with an unexpected divorce. Former Microsoft President and mentor, Pete Higgins, took Justina back under his wing and advised that she regain some structure in her life. What she really needed, he said, was people. He suggested going back to Microsoft. In her second stint, she began a longstanding relationship as Robbie Bach’s speechwriter and communications manager.
“When I spoke, I was speaking on his behalf,” says Justina. “My one and only mission was to make Robbie the best leader he could be. That was my only agenda, and there was that understanding.”
Justina fully dedicated herself to a role that requires a huge amount of trust and discretion. She established real, lasting relationships and was granted respect and assurance in return. Twenty years after starting at Microsoft, Justina remains friends with the people who fostered this special work environment. This supportive community helped her realize a passion for executive communications, speech writing, and thought leadership.
“I loved helping leaders find their own voices,” says Justina.
Justina emphasizes her appreciation for those she worked with at Microsoft in her new book, The Art of Inspiration: Lead Your Best Story, where she attributes a chapter to “the early days” as described by her former Microsoft colleagues. She remembers the supportive leaders that encouraged her to be her best.
“There was such a core of integrity,” she says. “They led by personal conviction, made strategic bets, gave hard challenges and then they let us go.”
Justina has since found a way to do what she loves most: tell stories. With some encouragement from Robbie, she left Microsoft and picked up novel writing once again. Justina also devotes her time to helping executives communicate effectively, and has been invited to speak for companies like Microsoft, NASDAQ, Mayo Clinic, and Disney.
“I think Microsoft has definitely prepared people to launch,” says Justina.
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Justina explains that by marrying great strategy with great storytelling, a leader is armed to become inspirational. This has been the formula for success as Justina continues working with great executives like Robbie Bach. Justina and Robbie led the
UPSTART LEADER workshop, aiming to build better leaders through demonstrating how to work together.
“We are builders together,” says Justina. “He's a ‘yes’ kind of leader. He can take any of my ideas and make them better. What’s really incredible is he believes the same for me.”
Turns out, she’s right.
“I am completely clear that my improvement as a speaker is directly correlated with Justina’s new approach, her meticulous writing, and the new visual style,” says Robbie.
THE EPILOGUE
Her new book, The Art of Inspiration, is an interactive guide for anybody needing to inspire a team, company, or change. Justina draws from her experiences and her network to deliver insights into how to be an effective communicator. Her hope is that it will find its way to great leaders.
“The number one predictor of truly extraordinary leadership is grit and authenticity,” says Justina.
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Justina built a Microsoft-network that not only contributed to her own success, but also helped her inspire more just like it. In addition to her executive leadership, she has a nonfiction series and an adult novel in the works. Still, in everything she does, Justina looks for the “A-ha”- an untold story or something new to add to the conversation.
“The blank page makes every project new,” she says.
Learn more about Justina, visit:
www.justinachen.com
Watch Justina’s storytelling in action
here on vimeo.