"Sustainability" often means different things to different people. And it’s no secret there’s increased consumer preference and demand for food produced from sustainable sources.

But what exactly does that mean? Who defines that? And how does a company, let alone individual farmers, establish a system for accurately tracking, measuring and proving their efforts truly making a difference?

In this episode, a director of sustainability for a milling company in Michigan tells us communication and science is at the heart of it all.

Guest:

• Lisa Woodke, Sustainability Director, Star of the West Milling Company

Episode Links:

• View Star of the West's Sustainability Report
• View Cooper Farms' Sustainability Report
• Blog: Get Started Sharing Your Agricultural Sustainability Story

If life is like a box of chocolates, and you never know what you’re going to get, your brand is more like an ice cream sundae. If it’s built right, you know your customers are going to get a consistently wonderful experience with a shining cherry on top every time.

A few years back, we were approached by the organizers of a long-lived summer camp looking for a bit of marketing help. But our recommendation for an all-out rebranding was a bit more than they expected.

In this episode, we reconnect with our friends from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to recount the challenges, insights, ah-ha's and oohs and ahhs that happen when clients and agency have a full understanding and trust in the science and creativity involved in branding.

Guests:

• Jeremy Scherf, Central Region Manager, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry
• Marin Smith, Vice President of Client Services and Creative, Shift•ology Communication

Episode Links:

• Blog: That One Time, at Re-Brand Camp...
• See the rebranded camp
• Contact Shift•ology to learn more about branding services

“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
• Start Your FREE WHY.os Discovery with Melanie
• 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