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Top of Mind Thursday – May 15, 2025: A Dozen Years Later
This week marks the 12th anniversary of this newsletter.
Back in 2013, I didn’t know how this would work out. Would people read it? Would they care? And how long could I keep doing this every single week?
Well, here we are—624 issues later. We’ve been through a lot together—4 presidential administrations; wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Pakistan; social justice, racism, antisemitism; business successes and failures; trade wars; and the implications of diplomatic tensions between the US and many of its long-term partners. Oh, and let’s not forget that little COVID pandemic thing that threw the whole planet for a loop for a couple of years.
Yet, a dozen years later, I’m still here, and so are all of you. We may not agree on all issues, but I appreciate the fact that you are still reading this and letting me know when something resonates, as well as when you think I’ve missed the mark.
My goal now remains what it was then—to provide you with a quick thought each week relating what’s going on in the world to business and marketing. Short, sweet, and to the point.
That’s what’s Top of Mind for me this week. Thanks for coming along on the 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 – May 8, 2025: What You Don’t Know Can Kill You
If you don’t want to deal with something unpleasant, ignore it and it will go away, right?
Highly unlikely.
If you ignore a lump in your breast or unusual rectal bleeding, you can miss the early signs of a cancer that may be treatable and possibly cured. If you ignore the signs of a potential contagion, you may miss the opportunity to prevent the next pandemic. And if you ignore the signs of impending severe weather events, you may miss the ability to warn people and save lives.
All of this seems logical, and yet programs that prevent cancer, watch for impending disease outbreaks, and track extreme weather events are all being defunded by the current administration.
We’ve all seen the results of not having the right information in place to prevent tragedies—whether that means watching loved ones die of diseases that might have been treatable, suffering through a global pandemic, or cleaning up after a massive hurricane, flood, or firestorm.
Prevention is always less costly than cleaning up after a disaster or health crisis. But it doesn’t provide the instant buzz of a headline that screams, “Look at how much we just saved!”
At what cost?
Unfortunately, by the time the full effects of these cuts are realized, prevention may no longer be an option. Mitigation may be limited, and the associated costs—in terms of human lives as well as dollars—will likely be astronomical.
All to avoid dealing with something that seems unpleasant now. But in the long run, the only really bad information is that which you don’t have in time to make informed decisions.
In that case, what you don’t know really can kill you.
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 – May 1, 2025: The Element of Surprise
It happens on a regular basis. An event occurs that seems to take the world by surprise: Wow! We didn’t see that coming.
Except that in just about all cases, we should have seen something like that coming. We just didn’t want to consider the probability of an unwelcome event happening.
Take the weather. We seem to be blindsided by terrible snowstorms in winter, hurricanes and floods during what’s known to be hurricane season, thunderstorms and tornados in areas known to be susceptible to them, and wildfires in dry, arid climates where rainfall has been scarce.
Geopolitically, we seem surprised when extremists who threaten to take violent action to benefit their cause do so. We’re startled when populist candidates enact populist policies. We’re caught off guard when tyrants and dictators do tyrannical and dictatorial things.
We’re surprised when mass shootings occur in a population with a huge number of assault weapons and little instruction on safety or regulation. We’re amazed at the growing homeless problem, since we emptied mental hospitals and no longer mandate medical treatment for those who are mentally ill. And we’re shocked to learn that making broad cuts in government spending might eliminate services that are both important and effective.
The question is why we are surprised? None of these situations appeared overnight from nowhere. But to mitigate their effect requires dedicated effort focused on doing the right thing in the situation. Too often, we have a Win-Lose mentality. We can’t let the other side win a point—even if what they’re suggesting is the best course of action.
Until we take off our blinders and focus on what’s coming upon either side, we’ll continue to be behind—caught off guard, unable to take the right preventative or corrective actions. The results should be no surprise to anyone.
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 – April 24, 2025: Remembrance & Survival
Today is Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Eighty years ago, the concentration camps in Germany, Austria, and Poland were liberated. The survivors were emaciated and skeletal—and they were the lucky ones.
Over six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust—2/3 of Europe’s Jewish population, nearly 1/3 of all Jews alive globally at the time. Millions of non-Jews were killed as well, including Gypsies, Poles, the disabled, and LGBT populations.
Many of the survivors have spent their lives ensuring their stories (and the stories of those who perished) are told and retold. The Holocaust has been memorialized in books and film, as well as in museums and memorials around the world.
Yet, in spite of this effort, there are many around the world who don’t believe either that the Holocaust happened, or that it could easily happen again. They think this was a myth, or that the numbers have somehow been exaggerated.
They don’t understand how quickly hatred and bigotry can spiral out of control. The words “Holocaust” and “genocide” are bandied around much too easily, which takes away from the magnitude of what happened in Europe nearly a century ago.
It’s also estimated that within the next decade, we will lose nearly 90% of those Holocaust survivors still alive, as they are now 80-100 years old.
We hear the slogan “Never again,” but those words are empty if we don’t remember what it is that happened, the bravery and dedication of those who defeated the Nazis, and the actions we need to take to prevent this kind of horrific massacre from happening again.
Remembrance is not for those who are gone: it is for those of us alive today. Even more importantly, it is what ensures the survival of future generations.
In the words of the late Chief Rabbi of the UK, Lord Sacks:
We know that whilst we do not have the ability to change the past, we can change the future.
We know that whilst we cannot bring the dead back to life, we can ensure their memories live on and that their deaths were not in vain.
And so, on this Yom HaShoah, we commit ourselves to one simple act:
Yizkor. Remember.
May the souls of the victims be bound in the bond of everlasting life.
Amen.
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