J29 – Back on the Growth Train with a Focus on #doingitright

Being recognized multiple times as an Elev8 GovCon Honoree is a story in itself; a story of commitment to doing things the right way, a story of culture and of giving back. We caught up with J29 CEO & Founder, Tracy Mills, and President, Nick Vass, to find out how being mindful is guiding this team’s trajectory for growth and maintaining culture.   

Constantly Mindful 

Companies may be established with intent and purpose, but the effort of maintaining that through growth requires a commitment to being mindful and deliberate while things around are changing. 

“As new people are coming on and existing employees settle in we need to continue ensuring people are happy, that this is where they want to be. Culture, giving back, career development… all of those things factor in equally.” 

Noting that an alignment or unalignment in values is always exposed at some point. “People tend to put their best foot forward initially but over time, as there are vulnerabilities in an area, when things are moving quickly, that’s when things come to light.” 

The positive side is that there is often validation, seeing the positive response, friendships developing despite the badges represented. “Culture, employee centric can be buzzwords but there has to be real intent behind it. Whether you are prime or sub, both sides have to have the same values, treat people with the same respect, otherwise, over time, those relationships won’t work.” 

J29 is also mindful about using its marketing dollars to match its mission. As such, you may see J29 as the matching donor sponsor at numerous events, getting its name out but doing so with purpose and intent. 

Culture through Growth 

Ensuring culture is part of everything that happens within a company from interview, through hiring and every day after is critical. Ensuring that culture is maintained as a company grows from 30 to 260 and beyond requires deliberation. 

“You have to find ways to have people feel involved and part of the team knowing that they may not be comfortable in networking scenarios or on the golf course. We want them to have the chance to grow but in ways they want to grow. We do a lot of surveys aimed at asking what we can improve, making sure we really hear what people think.” 

Believing in promoting from within, and ensuring new leaders have what they need, J29 has engaged leadership coaches to spend one-on-one time ensuring they have the skillsets needed to succeed, the understanding required to model the behavior they want to encourage in others. 

“With the number of employees we have now, the volume of input we have received, we have a good idea of where we need to go next, of what people really care about, and what culture will look like as we move forward.” 

Named from a Bible verse that includes “…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future…” people may come to J29 assuming they are heading into the best role ever. And it just may be. “What we have here is a mutually respectful relationship. We expect a lot from our employees, and we know that our employees expect a lot from us as well.  We look for people with the values we share, that we can help develop.” 

The Future 

Having taken time to ensure it was able to sustain growth without losing its identity and the culture it works hard to protect, J29 is once again back on the growth train. “We’re very excited for what the next year will bring. I feel like every government contractor has a responsibility to leave programs better than they found them and with some of our programs that we’re working on, we’re really looking forward to bringing some innovation and improvement.” 

“We’re grateful for the year behind us, for the opportunities to engage and collaborate with the community and our clients, and we look forward to even more ahead.” 

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