“People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.” -- The famous phrase from Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” TED talk has had individuals and businesses trying to discover and articulate their WHYs for over a decade. While simple in theory, it’s a bit more complicated in practice.

Dr. Gary Sanchez, aka “Dr. Why," has discovered and uncovered 9 WHYs that drive each and every one of us. He’s tidied it all up into his brilliant WHY Operating System and a simple and super-effective discovery tool that has helped hundreds of thousands of people accurately identify and articulate not just our WHYs but also the HOWs and WHATs that fuel our passions and purposes.

Dr. Why joins us to talk about the transformational and powerful experience of understanding our WHYs, and the drastic impact it has on not only how we work as a team, but in our personal relationships as well.

Guest:

• Dr. Gary Sanchez, WHY Institute CEO &Founder

Episode Links:

• Learn the Value of Clearly Discovering, Knowing and Articulating Your WHY
• Discover Your WHY: Take the assessment now (link coming soon)
• Contact Certified WHY Institute Coach Melanie Wilt to Unlock your Entire WHY.os

The election has come and gone, and while there’s a lame duck currently in the Oval Office, there will soon be a turkey at the White House. No, we’re not talking about the next President of the United States, but rather the time-honored tradition of pardoning an actual live feathered gobbler from being a Thanksgiving meal at the residence of our nation’s leader. But where do these turkeys come from? How do they get chosen? And what all is involved in the adventure and media frenzy it takes to get them there? We’re going to learn all that and more on this episode of Shooting the Shift.

Guests:

• Gary Cooper, COO, Cooper Farms
• Cole Cooper, Cooper Farms
• Cassie Jo Arend, Agriculture Account Manage, Shift•ology Communication

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Cooper Farms
• Blog -- There's a Turkey in the White House!

Executives and business owners and the concept of leadership naturally go hand-in-hand. But while these leaders are busy leading, who is leading them? And how do they know if their leadership style is effective and sustainable?

Our own leader, Melanie Wilt, sits down with her executive coach, Ken Jacobs, to talk leadership traits, strategies and habits he incorporates to help leaders reach their full potential on this episode of Shooting the Shift.

Guest: Ken Jacobs, Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Jacobs Consulting
• Connect with Ken Jacobs on LinkedIn
• Blog -- Leadership Insights from a PR Pro: Strategies for Effective Team Management
  
  

There’s a lot of work that goes into planning, setting up and managing a live virtual event for large audiences. But it takes a unique blend of factors to pull off a trophy-worthy performance. In this episode, Dan Toland connects with two of our partners who recently received national acclaim for their outstanding LIVE Virtual Farm Trips. Pop some champagne and get ready to take some notes as they share secrets to their success on “Shooting the Shift.”

Guests:
• Krista McCoon, San Joaquin County AgVenture Coordinator
• Brooke Williams, Director of Communications, American Dairy Association Indiana

Episode Links:
• View ADAI's Award-Winning Virtual Farm Trip
• View San Joaquin AgVenture's Award-Winning series of trips to a Blueberry and Apple Farm
• Learn more about partnering with Virtual Farm Trips
• Blog -- From Experiments to Accolades: LIVE Virtual Farm Trips become award-winning staples for agriculture education

Lawyers are our friends, right? Well for us at least, communication and the law are very complementary professions. Both require strong arguments and a certain degree of influence. On this episode of Shooting the Shift, Melanie Wilt is joined at the intersection of communication and the law by her good friend, who just happens to be an ag lawyer and director of a collegiate law center, to talk trends and issues in agriculture that communicators need to be aware of as they work on behalf of clients, the role of lawyers when representing farmers, and maybe a little bit of friendly politics from both sides of the aisle.

Guest:
• Jenifer Zwagerman, Ag Law Director, Drake University

Episode Links:
• Learn more about Jennifer Zwagerman
• Learn more about the Drake Agricultural Law Center
• Blog post: The Intersection of Communication and the Law

Personal branding is essential for today’s working professional, especially in a Public Relations setting, but what does a personal brand encompass? And how do you create and maintain a positive personal brand? We discuss the importance of personal branding for aspiring public relations professionals and share insights and tips for crafting a strong personal brand and navigating social media etiquette in this episode of Shooting the Shift.

Guests:

• Emily Bennett, Account Manager, Shift•ology Communication
• Lydia Henry, Content Coordinator, Shift•ology Communication

Episode Links:

• View the brands of the Shift•ology Team
• Have Emily speak about Personal Branding (and see what other speaking opportunities we offer)
• Watch or listen to more episodes

“Pro Bono”...it’s a funny sounding phrase that does get used now and again in the professional world. But what exactly does it mean? And what’s so “pro” about it? We define and discuss the nuances of pro bono work and the benefits it can have for client, agency and the community in this episode of Shooting the Shift, featuring Eddie Bell of the Springfield, Ohio Rotary Club, the host of an annual gourmet food truck competition that has become Springfield’s “Must Taste Event of the Summer.”

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Springfield Rotary Club
• Lean more about the Springfield Rotary Gourmet Food Truck Competition
• Blog: The Pros of Pro Bono

Rapid changes in communication technology have drastically changed the way we all work, especially those of us who work in communication. In a world where the next big things emerge faster than courses can be prepared to teach them, how are colleges working to equip the next generation of communication professionals? In this episode of Shooting the Shift, Melanie Wilt connects with a communications professor to learn how academia keeps pace with the trends reshaping the industry, and what has to be done to ensure students have the proper hard skills and soft skills needed to succeed in this ever-changing field.

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Mary Sterenberg
• Get tips for busy moms of tweens and teens at SALTeffect.com
• Preparing the Next Generation of Communication Professionals