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Top of Mind Thursday – January, 8, 2026: What on Earth is Going on?
Welcome to 2026. If you were expecting things to be different than last year, you may have gotten your wish—but perhaps not in the way you were expecting!
In just the first week of the year, the US invaded Venezuela, captured the sitting president and his wife, and brought them back to this country to stand trial on existing warrants. This was followed by the interception of an oil tanker full of Venezuela crude oil that was flying a Russian flag.
In the US, demonstrations between ICE enforcement teams and people protesting ICE actions have gotten more and more tense, culminating in the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis yesterday. It’s not clear yet whether the shooting was justified.
This follows the decision by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz not to run for re-election after allegations of massive fraud amongst Somalian communities in Minnesota.
In the Middle East, the situation in Iran is escalating. Thousands of Iranians are protesting the repressive Islamic regime that has ruled their country for decades. Protests have occurred before, but they’ve always been extinguished quickly. This time, the calls from the public for regime change seem stronger and there’s a rumor the Ayatollah is looking to escape to Russia, where he may join former Syrian dictator Assad. Perhaps Iran will be free soon?
Much of Europe is up in arms over Donald Trump’s renewed attempts to somehow gain control of Greenland—if not by force, than by perhaps “buying” the territory from Denmark.
In the Caribbean, Cuba and Colombia are worrying they may be next in line for US action, after Venezuela.
The common thread through all these events is that a year or two ago, none of these seemed at all feasible, and certainly not imminent. Massive change is happening on a global scale—and we’re only in week 1 of the year!
We don’t know what will happen next, except that the one constant appears to be change. Grab you popcorn, fasten your seat belts, and get prepared for a wild ride!
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – January, 1, 2026: A Real New Year?
Today was New Year’s Day—the beginning of 2026.
It’s traditional to make all kinds of plans for the new year—lose weight, exercise more, stop smoking, start a new hobby, tackle a new business project, etc.
But what tends to happen to most of us is we start out with a bang—only to lose momentum a few days (or at most weeks) into the new year. We then find ourselves falling into bad habits, or abandoning new ones that require too much effort to sustain at the level to which we jumped out of the gate on day one.
We then find ourselves with a near-replay of previous years, which didn’t get us where we wanted to be then, and won’t do so now.
So how do we really affect change at the start of a new year?
Here’s an exercise I do with my clients:
Imagine we are sitting down on Jan 1, 2027 to celebrate what was a fantastic year.
- What would we be celebrating?
- Looking at where we are today, what would we have to change to get to that goal? What would we need to start doing, and what would we need to stop doing to get there?
- What obstacles should we expect to face, and what tactics could we put in place now to overcome them?
- Who could we count on to hold us accountable for sticking with our program so we reach this goal?
- What checkpoints should we set up to measure how we’re doing to meet that goal?
- How will we handle midcourse corrections if things get off course?
This exercise will work for either personal or business goals. But you’re more likely to be successful if you choose one single goal that is worth celebrating at the end of the year and do the work to ensure you’re on the right track.
So rather than just flipping the page on the calendar this year, do something that will make *this*new year real. Then get ready to celebrate success in 12 months—the clock is ticking!
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – December 25, 2025: Season’s Greetings
Today was Christmas, the anniversary of Christ’s birth that is celebrated by Christians.
In the US, we see many decorations, intensive gift shopping, and traditional family gatherings. As a non-Christian, though, as I see people fighting for a parking space at the mall or cutting off someone in traffic, I wonder if somehow the big message is missing here.
Christmas is just one of the holidays celebrated during this season. For Jews, Hanukkah often coincides with or near Christmas. African Americans celebrate Kawanzaa, and many cultures have a special observance for winter solstice—the shortest day of the year.
On an online forum, someone asked, “Are Jews insulted if you wish them a Merry Christmas?” The answer was almost universally, no. We understand that this is meant as a general greeting of good will. You could offer “happy holidays” to someone if you aren’t sure what holiday they celebrate. But we do get insulted when you say “globalize the intifada,” because we understand this refers to killing us or our Jewish brethren.
Instead of looking for the right set of words, most of us would much rather see behavior that epitomizes what we understand to be the spirit of the holiday: peace on earth and good will to men.
In that spirit, I wish you all a happy holiday season—regardless of what holiday you do or don’t celebrate. And for all of us, a happy, healthy, prosperous, and safe new year to come.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – December 18, 2025: And Still the Light Burns Bright…
Last Sunday, two terrorists opened fire on a peaceful gathering of a thousand people at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 and injuring scores of others.
While such an attack was shocking, it was not surprising to many Jews around the world. Since the Oct 7th massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel, we’ve seen a major upswing in attacks on Jewish people around the world: Manchester, England; Amsterdam; Berlin; Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC; peace marchers in Boulder, CO—and, of course, the firebombing of the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion during Passover in April.
These are just the “highlights.” The Combat Antisemitism Movement recorded more than 13,000 antisemitic incidents worldwide in the two years since October 7th—breaking all previous records. Targets include synagogues and public gathering places, as well as individuals who identify as Jewish. As an example, just a week ago, someone ripped all the mezuzahs off the doors of Jewish residents of a senior living facility in Toronto, Canada.
And yet in many locales, the powers that be cannot bring themselves to condemn either the rape, torture, and murder of thousands of people in Israel, or the ongoing attacks on Jews since then. Instead, they bend over backwards to point out that Islamophobia is also a bad thing—creating a false equivalency, in spite of the fact that there have been virtually NO reported attacks of Jews on Muslims.
There have, however, been ongoing attacks on Jews in Sydney and Melbourne since October 7th, but the Australian government chose not to act to protect Jewish Australians. Now, perhaps they will choose to take the necessary steps to keep Jews in Australia safe. We’ll see if they’re up to the task.
Yet, in spite of this attack—and perhaps because of it— thousands of people have come out since Sunday to light Hanukah menorahs. . . in Bondi Beach, Manchester, Paris, Germany, Washington, and hundreds of cities around the world.
The Hanukkah story is about light vanquishing darkness. It’s about the Jewish people staying strong and surviving, in spite of the numerous adversaries who have tried to wipe us out. The small bit of oil that should have only lit the menorah for one day lasted for eight, until more could be found.
The light from Menorahs around the world will continue to burn bright—this week and for years into the future. From darkness came light, and from light comes life. Forever.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com