Mine the Gap

Josh Snead is the co-creator of "SEC Shorts," a sketch comedy series that explores the crazy world of college football in the south. Josh tells us how sketch comedy series got its start and why humor is such a powerful tool to comment on real life. He breaks down the team's content and production process, talks about the role comedy plays in marketing and shares why it's important to know your audience. Finally, Josh challenges creatives to stop questioning themselves and to move past the idea phase and produce something that's meaningful.

Watch "SEC Shorts" on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, or Saturday mornings on SEC Nation; connect with Josh on Instagram and Twitter.

Additional Content: watch SNL's "Dr. Wenowdis" sketch.

Erin Combs is an associate consultant, market research at one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. She shares how marketing research has taught her to anticipate and challenges 20-somethings to go "beyond just understanding the technical part" of your job and to find ways to add intangible value to your team. We also talk about the importance of asking questions to point out others' blind spots and Erin shares why it's important to triangulate your personal and professional growth.

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn.

Additional content:

• Daniel Goleman on "What Makes a Leader" (emotional intelligence explained).
• Take the test – determine your EQ score!
• Learn more about psychological safety from a Google experiment or the Harvard Business Review.

Note: views expressed in this interview are Erin's own and not, in any way, a reflection of her company.

Eleanor Stenner is a Birmingham, Alabama-based wedding photographer capturing joyful, effortless weddings that will make your jaw drop. Originally from Brighton, England, she moved to the States when she was 12. We chat with Eleanor about how growing up in different cultures gave her a global perspective and she shares how the camera is a magnifier to help tell the stories of her subjects. She also discusses the challenges of staying true to her visual style while also crafting a unique story for each client. To end the show, Eleanor challenges listeners to be continuous learners and helps the guys perfect their British accents while leading them through a "Double Decker Dialect," her content series exploring the difference in English and American words and pronunciations.

See more of Eleanor's work on Facebook, Instagram or her website, eleanorstenner.com, and catch all of her latest puns on Twitter.

Karl Chester is an assistant art director at Markstein, where he specializes in graphic design and illustration. His work ranges from print and digital to identity and web for numerous clients across a broad range of industries. Karl joins us to chat about how creatives can reclaim the narrative around the value of design and the importance of getting on the same page as your client at the beginning. He walks us through his design process, which is all about research, building relationships and asking the right questions and tells us how he identifies the right type of design for each project.

You can find Karl on LinkedIn or reach out to him via email.

Lindsey Nance is a traffic anchor for WSMV News 4 Nashville. She gives us the low-down on how she maintains the energy and consistency necessary for a successful career in broadcast news. Lindsey also shares how uses creativity to make her reporting stand out and how her station differentiates itself from other broadcast news stations. Lastly, we talk about the difference between discipline and motivation and why both are necessary to grow your career.

Follow Lindsey on Instagram and Twitter; catch her on WSMV News4 Today each weekday morning, starting at 4 a.m. CST.

The decision to pursue graduate education is big, complex and personal. It's a complicated decision made more complicated by how COVID-19 has affected the economy and the way we live life. We invited four people, with four different degrees, to share how they made the decision to go to grad school, what their experience was like and what they'd do differently.

Jake Wilks is the national director of sales at Athletic Recovery and Performance, where he sells to professional and NCAA sports teams and rehab and performance clinics across the country. Originally, Jake didn't intend to build a career in sales, but once he realized sales is mainly about building relationships, he was all in. He shares his transition from being the product to selling the product and talks us through how to overcome objections whether you're selling to an individual or an organization. He also tells the story of how he landed his current role, which included an Uber ride to a random address and unexpected meetings with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees organizations.

Connect with Jake on LinkedIn or Instagram; email him at [email protected]. You can learn more about the Firefly at recoveryfirefly.com.

Ceci Mula is a creative director and branding consultant that helps artists and brands hone their look and feel through graphics and branding, styling, photoshoots, social media and more. She's worked with stars like Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris and many country, pop and indie up-and-comers on projects ranging from cover art to music videos and everything in between.

We sat down with Ceci to talk about how she got into the industry and learn about her design process, which is largely driven by data, emotions and inspiration. Ceci gives advice for managing professional relationships and challenges everyone to do the hard work that comes with putting your emotional and mental wellbeing first.

Find Ceci on Instagram, @cecis_endless_pizza, and keep an eye on her website for exciting things dropping soon!

Additional Content:

- Purchase Daring Greatly by Brene Brown.

- Listen to Brene's TED Talk, "The Power of Vulnerability," which has been viewed over 50 million times.

Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jordy Searcy grew up playing music and found his voice early on. In 2014, he landed a spot on NBC's "The Voice," where he began blazing his own trail as a songwriter and vocalist. His 2018 EP, "Dark in The City," was met with critical acclaim and his latest album, "Love? Songs," delivers exactly what he is known for: authentic, original music driven by his faith, emotional depth and his intrinsic desire to connect with an audience.

We chat with Jordy about his songwriting process, how he collaborates with other artists and what he loves about playing live music. He wows us with how in-tune he is with his current spot in his career arc and challenges listeners to keep coming up with ideas. Plus, Jordy writes a song with us in real-time and breaks down how some of his biggest hits came to be.

Pre-save Jordy's upcoming single, "Only Know How to Love You," and check all of Jordy's records wherever you listen to music. Find him on Instagram, @jordysearcymusic, or on his website, jordysearcymusic.com.

Noah Herrin is a 25-year-old communicator and pastor based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a trusted voice to the Gen-Z and Millennial generations and his messages have been received by thousands around the globe as he encourages people to not just know Jesus, but to follow Him. Noah tells us how he has learned to be an effective public speaker and shares what he believes are the two keys to communication. He also challenges us to "say yes to everything," shares how an early morning run finally landed him a mentor and tells us about the writing and publishing process for his new book, "Viral Jesus," which is available today on Amazon.

Find Noah on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Check out his podcast, All Our Ways, wherever you get your podcasts and learn more about his church at myneighborhoodchurch.live.

Books Recommendations:

• "Communicating for a Change" by Andy Stanley "wrecked Noah's life" – buy it Amazon.
• Learn the art of asking good questions (and a lot more!) with Dale Carnegie's classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
• Develop your public speaking skills with "Talk Like Ted."