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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday – October 19, 2023: Doggone it
The horror and atrocities of terrorism and war continued this week, and the sense of outrage and loss is felt globally.
On a smaller scale, we experienced our own personal loss. Our beautiful 14-year-old Siberian Husky, Mocha, crossed the Rainbow Bridge Tuesday evening. His health had been declining for some time, but he deteriorated significantly in the last few days. We knew he wanted to stay with us, but he was struggling and it was time to say good-bye.
Those of you who have had beloved pets know how difficult it can be to part with a beloved family member, particularly a dog.
No one loves you so unconditionally as a dog—not your parent, your spouse or partner, or your child. No one.
No one looks at you with such anticipation every time they see you, and is willing to overlook all your faults and inadequacies with such ease.
Of all our Huskies, Mocha was the one that was most people-oriented and intuitive. He knew when we were hurting and when petting him would make us feel better. He checked out every visitor to the house and constantly patrolled the yard, so that he knew what was going on all the time. We called it MoFOMO—Mocha’s Fear Of Missing Out.
He had such a presence in our home for the last 12 years. Technically, we rescued him, but we can’t count the number of times he rescued us. Our world feels so much emptier right now.
I can’t help feeling that the world in general would be a much better place if, before committing violent acts, everyone spent a little bit of time with a sweet, loving dog. Given mankind’s incivility and nastiness to others, there are many times when I want to trade dealing with humans for the companionship of dogs.
Run free, sweet Mocha the Dog. All your maladies are behind you. Your brothers Nikita, Stoli, and Nanook were waiting for you, and we know you will be waiting for us some day. We know you’re in a much better place, but we miss you desperately, doggone it.
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 12, 2023: A World of Hurt
On Saturday morning, hundreds of Hamas terrorists swarmed through the security fence from Gaza into Israel and viciously attacked Israeli civilians going about their daily lives.
Fifty years to the day of the Yom Kippur War, these butchers executed hundreds of young concertgoers in the desert at point-blank range. They burned and pillaged villages in southern Israel, raping and torturing women, children, and elderly Holocaust survivors—taking more than 100 people hostage. They lobbed thousands of missiles into Israel, attacking any city they could reach.
Five days later, we are still trying to process what happened. Sometimes there are no words to express the shock and sadness about such horrific and terrible acts.
People ask me if, as a Jew, I know people in Israel that are affected. Let me spare you asking the question: We are a small group in terms of global population, and we ALL know people in Israel that were affected—friends or family or colleagues. We all know people who have been called up to fight for Israel’s existence, and none of us—whether here or in Israel—feels very safe right now.
We appreciate the strong support from President Biden and the US, and from many other countries across the world.
But we also have heard from those who think massacring hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians is somehow justified or acceptable. Our synagogues and community centers are on high alert against potential acts of antisemitism (which have been rising continuously throughout the last decade, but are expected to increase now). We have to turn away from those who want to see goodness on both sides, because we can’t see any goodness whatsoever in these savage acts, and we don’t have the energy to take on this battle now too.
Israel has mobilized over 300,000 reservists from all over the world to fight for the country’s survival. We do what we can to help and support them, and in our hearts we know they will eventually prevail. But between now and then, lies a very dark and frightening journey that we’ve been forced, against our will, to take.
Well-meaning people ask if we are OK. Let me answer that too: No, we are not OK, and we will not be OK for a very long time. But we appreciate that you care enough to ask. And know that even as we fight through this, our prayers all end with a wish for peace.
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 5, 2023: Many Happy Returns
Back in the old days of 2019, one conjured up the Uber app when you needed a ride to get from Point A to Point B.
Then, in 2020, the pandemic hit and most people weren’t going anywhere. So Uber pivoted and introduced Uber Eats—a way to get your takeout food delivered to you. This week, the company announced a new service to help you ship return items. For less than $5, Uber will stop by your house, pick up your package, and deliver it to the US post office, or to a UPS or Fedex store.
Many of us may not see this as a necessary service. But with the explosion in online shopping, more than $212 billion worth of items were returned last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Not everyone who needs to return a package can get to a drop-off location during regular hours. This service may be a big help for people who don’t have cars, have other daytime commitments, or aren’t well enough to get out to do this themselves.
Uber realized during the pandemic that it was not in the business of offering ride sharing. It’s core competency was a large fleet of drivers in most metropolitan areas who can easily be deployed to local locations—whether it’s to deliver a pizza or pickup a package. Who knows what’s next? If it’s something that can make use of a large fleet of connected drivers, it’s likely Uber will jump in and add that to its list too.
What additional offerings can you add to help serve your customers?
Taking a good look at how you can put extra capacity to good use may result in great returns for your business.
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 28, 2023: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
As of now, it looks like the US federal government will shut down on Saturday night because Congress can’t agree on how to pass a funding bill.
Well, actually it’s the Republicans in the House of Representatives that can’t seem to agree on how to solve this. The Senate is working on a bipartisan bill to keep things running, but the House Republicans can’t seem to agree among themselves on much of anything. Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House, has said some of the holdouts seem bent on “burning the place down.”
We often hear that American government is broken, but in reality our government works incredibly efficiently. The mail is delivered in a reasonable time, our food and drug supplies are safe, Social Security and Medicare programs work effectively, our military is well trained and equipped, and planes land safely.
It’s the legislative process that’s broken. Too many people—on the local, state, and federal levels—seem bent on airing a personal grievance or stopping someone else from making something happen because they don’t agree with what the other person says or believes. Adults know life is a series of compromises—throwing a tantrum because you can’t get everything you want is for small children.
Meanwhile, thousands of government employees will be furloughed as of Sunday. Others—including air traffic controllers, the TSA, the border patrol, and the military—are considered essential workers and will be forced to work without pay until this is resolved. Is that fair to them?
Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, had a great saying: Agree and commit, disagree and commit, or get the hell out of the way.
Burning the place down doesn’t help anyone. If you can work together with others to get a compromise, that’s preferable. If not, get out of the way and let those who are adult enough to work with others do what they were elected to do.
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