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Top of Mind Thursday – October 29, 2026: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
Mid-term elections in the US—expected to bring major changes in the political landscape—are less than a week away.
This week, Israel had its own major election, with sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to face strong opposition from a slew of opposition candidates, headed up by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
Exit polling showed strong momentum for the opposition, and Eisenkot actually made a victory speech Tuesday evening. But then the actual results started coming in and it became apparent that Eisenkot’s group does not have the votes necessary to create a ruling majority. As it turns out, neither does Netanyahu, though he does have a bigger number of Knesset seats and is closer to a majority than Eisenkot.
The surprise in all this was the strong showing by two Arab parties, some of whom don’t even believe Jews should even live in Israel.
Take a moment to process that last sentence. Not only does Israel—the country regularly accused of discrimination, genocide and apartheid—allow those who don’t disagree with the government to run for office, but it is the only place in the Middle East where Arab citizens can actually vote in a democratic election.
It’s not clear what happens next. One of the two leading blocs can agree to work with the Arab parties to gain a majority. Some of the groups in one of the two large blocs can decide to switch sides to give either Netanyahu or Eisenkot a majority. Or the whole thing may be.a stalemate, which would force another election in the Spring.
While many people feel it’s past time for Netanyahu’s reign to be ended, close to half of Israelis voted otherwise. Until this sorts itself out, it’s not clear who will be on top.
Which brings us back to the US election next week. Listening to the media, Tuesday promises to be a big blue rout for the Democrats. But we’ve had surprises before: 2016, 2020, and 2024, most recently. It would be unwise for either side to start making plans for January quite yet.
It ain’t over, till it’s over.
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 – October 22, 2026: We’re Back. . . But in a Different Place
What on Earth happened to this newsletter for the last two weeks?
After nearly 13.5 years of faithfully producing Top of Mind Thursday every single week (much longer than my best Wordle streak!), you may have noticed there have been no newsletters for the last two weeks.
Did I just get lazy or forget about all of you? Definitely not.
I was actually quite busy—relocating from the Bay Area to Israel with my daughter and Kozmo the Kooky Dog for the next phase of our life adventure.
This involved much clearing, packing and donating belongings, a long car ride to LAX airport and an even longer plane ride to Tel Aviv —after which I’ve been working my way through a long list of new immigrant tasks as well as some basic things, like getting high-speed internet installed.
We’re up and running now, so expect to hear from me every week again.
Why did we do this? It’s something we’ve been thinking about for years and finally decided the time was right. As time goes by, I will share some of my experiences as a new immigrant in a new land. Things are far from perfect here, but they’re also not nearly as dire as mainstream Western media would lead you to believe.
Some things that worked well in the US are much harder here, and vice versa. Many things seem to take a little longer here than they did in our old life, but there’s also the feeling people jump in when needed to get things done.
A great example: A plumber jumped into action with just seconds to spare to save the FlyDubai flight a couple of weeks ago. But if you needed your clogged toilet fixed, he’d get around to it. . . maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day, or maybe some day after that. Eventually.
I’ll still be sharing ideas and thoughts about marketing, business, and the world. . . with a little different perspective.
Hope you’ll continue to join me on this exciting new journey.
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 – October 1, 2026: Taking Flight
What started out as a routine Dubai to Tel Aviv flight yesterday morning turned into anything but.
About two hours into the flight, it appears the co-pilot stabbed the pilot several times, likely with an axe, then put the plane, with nearly 180 Israelis onboard, into a steep descent that nearly downed the aircraft by dropping more than 3 miles in about a minute.
The injured pilot was somehow able to both put out a Mayday signal that a hijacking was in place and open the cockpit door before collapsing. Several passengers stormed the cockpit, subdued the terrorist, and treated the pilot’s wounds, which were severe.
Most importantly, one of the passengers took the plane’s controls and brought the aircraft out of the steep dive. This allowed an off-duty pilot who was onboard the aircraft to take control and safely land the plane in northern Saudi Arabia. Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia all mobilized fighter jets to monitor the situation.
This could have had a very different ending:
- If the pilot hadn’t taken quick action, in spite of his injuries. . .
- If the passenger who righted the plane (who was a plumber by vocation) hadn’t watched videos of how this was done. . .
- If there hadn’t been additional pilots on board to land the plane. . .
- If there hadn’t been a passenger with medical training available to save the injured pilot’s life. . .
- If Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, hadn’t allowed the plane to land. . .
Possibly the worst scenario: If the hijacker had managed to get into Israeli airspace and aimed at a heavily populated area, the Israeli Air Force would have been forced to decide between possibly allowing a 9/11-type mass casualty event or shooting down a plane filled with Israeli civilians. What a horrible choice that would have been.
But everything DID go right. In spite of major damage to the plane’s tail, the aircraft landed safely. The Saudis treated the passengers and crew extremely well and helped get them back on a rescue flight. For the first time in history, a flight flew from Saudi Arabia to Israel. The injured pilot is recovering in a Saudi hospital, and the hijacker is being held in custody in the UAE. With a plane full of Israelis, no surprise that there were both current and former IDF soldiers ready to jump into action when needed.
Of course, there are already conspiracy theories about how this was planned by Israel (really?), as well as media outlets calling this a mere “altercation” between pilots. Makes you wonder what language they would have used to describe 9/11—”multiple altercations in several American locations”?
But given what we know so far, I’d call this a modern day miracle. Move over, Sully Sullenberger, you’ve got company.
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 – September 24, 2026: You Can’t or You Won’t?
The customer support rep was neither supportive nor customer-focused.
I had ordered a new mattress to be home delivered on Tuesday. I told the sales rep, I’d be available all day until 4pm, when I had to leave for a dentist appointment. No problem, he said. The delivery people will call the day before and tell you the 2-hour window when they’ll be at your house.
Well, I got a text, not a call, at 7pm Monday evening telling me the mattress would be delivered at—you probably see this coming— 4PM. Argh.
I called the customer service number and the rep obviously didn’t want to be bothered by this. I told him the rest of the day was fine, but I couldn’t make 4pm because it was now much too late to reschedule my dental appointment. He told me the delivery firm has a computerized system that spits out a schedule which then cannot be altered.
When I pushed back, he then said something that really got me: “Well, if you’re willing to pay an extra $49 for our VIP customer experience, you’ll be able to pick whatever time of the day you want.”
Wait. You just told me the computerized schedule was unalterable. Now you’re telling me you can change the schedule, you just won’t do it without charging an extra fee.
If I didn’t need the mattress quickly, I would have canceled the order right then and there. The economy is stalling, prices keep rising, and here you are charging customers more for something that should be pretty simple. Then, you blame the deliver company for setting up the rule. Yet, your VIP option proves everything you just said was inaccurate and untrue.
To top it off, this company sent me several reminders to complete a survey about my customer experience. Its not that I cant find something good to say about the company, just that—considering how they treat customers—I won’t.
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