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Top of Mind Thursday – March 27, 2025: A Harmless Little Chat
This week, we learned that details of a pending US military operation were shared by senior US officials over Signal, an insecure messaging app—among a long list of people that included a journalist.
The full story is still unfolding on this incident, but it appears at this point to have been a major faux pas.
Not only could this have compromised an in-progress military op, but one of the people included on the message trail was following the conversation while in Russia (where eavesdropping and spying on foreign dignitaries are to be expected). US partners are upset, because their intelligence input may have been compromised. And inadvertently adding a journalist to this type of conversation is a major no-no.
Mistakes happen, and this could have all blown over quickly had the administration admitted they made a mistake and it would take steps to ensure it didn’t happen again.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, the key players involved (including the Secretary of Defense) tried to deflect blame:
No classified information was disclosed (texts show that was not the case).
The journalist must have added himself to the group (not possible), or he made this up (not the case, based on what was disclosed).
And even, from Donald Trump: The app itself must be defective (Nope, the app worked exactly as it was supposed to).
This administration is turning the US government upside down and inside out in an attempt to root out fraud and eliminate wasteful spending. They’ve purposely brought in people with little to no government experience to change things up.
That’s fine and good, but there are processes and procedures in place for a reason. Just like you don’t fire the people who guard the nuclear stockpile or manage air traffic control, you don’t ignore national security protocols put in place for all of our safety.
Perhaps it’s time for the president to call his team in for a chat about how to manage critical information in the future. But this time, don’t have that discussion over an insecure messaging platform.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
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Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – March 20, 2025: Interesting Times
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Chinese curse may you live in interesting times. Well, things look pretty darn interesting right now.
Both domestic and international policy and processes in the United States have been turned upside down by the current administration. Countries we have considered allies for centuries are now suspect. Partnerships that have been sacrosanct since the end of WWII are now being revisited. New relationships with other political entities are being built in their place.
US governmental programs and agencies that have been functioning as expected are being dismantled and downsized. Law abiding individuals are afraid of being targeted because of their ethnicity or sexual preference. Protections we took for granted are now being questioned or eliminated. Prices of everyday items continue to rise.
Maya Angelou wisely said, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.” We should therefore not be surprised to see these types of changes being implemented—we were warned they would be coming.
The question is how does one act in such times? There are protests and boycotts planned, but it’s unlikely these will have much of an impact on the current situation or the future. Neither will whining or crying about what’s going on.
Half the country voted for this course of action. If you don’t like what’s happening, instead of thrashing around complaining how this isn’t right, perhaps it’s time to create the narrative for an alternative future—one that a majority of voters can get behind.
What we need is a future that is an awful lot less interesting—one that appeals to Americans across the political spectrum. Let’s hope the right parties can be interested to start working towards that better future. We can’t take anything much more interesting than where we are now.
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 – March 13, 2025: End of an Era
For as long as I can remember, there were two things you could count on at Southwest Airlines: no assigned seating, and bags flew free.
Several months ago, the airline announced it would be moving to assigned seating. This week, it announced the era of free checked bags is over as of May.
In the short term, I’m sure the fees they expect to collect for checked bags will add to the airline’s bottom line. However, we have to ask if that’s worth destroying what’s left of the airline’s long standing positioning.
Southwest was always the airline that was a little less mainstream, a little off-the beaten-track (remember when they flew mainly into airports like Midway in Chicago and Hobby in Houston?), and a little more fun. The flight attendants were known to spice up preflight safety instructions and to be just a little more casual and upbeat than most of their competitors.
And Southwest had a reputation for being the low-cost alternative—you could put up with the need to check in exactly on time and queue up in numerical order because it was a safe but less-expensive way to fly. Because bags were checked at no cost, fewer people were trying to stuff oversized luggage into overhead bins.
Now, Southwest’s prices match most of their competitors—and that’s before accounting for checked baggage fees. More people will be likely to carryon baggage, which will slow down boarding. All this makes it appear that management is trying its best to mold SWA into just another nondescript American airline. What’s next? Reading the safety announcements word-for-word from a canned presentation?
Too often, companies with unique brand differentiators shoot themselves in the foot by stripping out what makes them so unique. Changing what customers have come to expect from Southwest may increase revenue for awhile, but long term, if fewer people choose them, the airline may find the extra baggage around marketing and positioning wasn’t worth the fee.
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 – March 6, 2025: Taxing Times
This week, President Donald Trump again threatened to slap tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico—America’s two biggest trade partners.
For some reason, the president feels these tariffs will hurt the originating countries. But, in reality, it is consumers who shoulder the burden. In most cases, middlemen pass on the additional costs, rather than absorbing them. Furthermore, it seems that every time the US imposes a tariff on a foreign country, that country reciprocates by taxing US import—helping no one.
Then there’s the issue of car manufacturing. Under free trade agreements originally set up in the late 1980s, North American countries could send products back and forth without being subject to tariffs. As a result, auto manufacturing hubs developed on both sides of the Canadian and Mexican borders. It’s almost impossible today to know what parts of a car came from the US and what came from Mexico or Canada.
Today, it appears Trump has offered to delay implementing tariffs for another month. Perhaps this was meant as nothing more than a negotiating tactic to get a better “deal” for the United States. However, the turmoil this has stirred in the markets, as well as the ill will generated on both sides of the border, will not easily be forgotten.
People do change their behavior when a proverbial gun is put to their head, but they do it with resentment and frustration. Already, many Canadian stores are starting to stock alternatives to American brands. If the tariffs don’t hit this month, maybe they’ll come back in the near future. Better to address the situation now than to wait to be blackmailed again soon.
There are times that do warrant carrying a big stick and using it as necessary. But these are usually against your enemies—not your friends.
It takes a long time to build trust, which can be quickly eroded under stressful situations. In this case, it’s not just the avocados or maple syrup that are taxed: it’s the relationships as well.
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