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.

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