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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday – September 8, 2022: A Majestic Loss
This morning, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest serving monarch, passed away at age 96. 
This was not a surprise–the Queen had not been well the last year. Over the last few months, she had missed several important state occasions for the first time in her 70-year reign.
The succession was immediate: Her eldest son Charles automatically became King Charles III upon the Queen’s death. But it’s not at all clear that Charles will be able to maintain anywhere near the influence of his mother.
The world has changed dramatically over the more than 2/3 of a century of Elizabeth’s reign. What was once called the British Empire has shrunk to a fraction of the size and power it wielded in 1952. The Royal Family had its share of scandals and tragedy during that time–from the death of Princess Diana to the accusations of sexual misconduct of Prince Andrew.
Most amazingly, though, was how Elizabeth maintained her stature, dignity, and power in spite of the chaos and division swirling in the world around her. Other world leaders came and went–including 15 different UK prime ministers–but Elizabeth prevailed with honor and quiet elegance.
The monarchy may have outlived its usefulness. But for more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II provided a sense of balance and propriety in a messy, power hungry world.
RIP, Elizabeth
Check out our marketing thought 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
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Top of Mind Thursday – September 1, 2022: North of the Border
This week, I’m visiting friends on an island near Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
So many things in Canada are similar to the US. Canadians really are more friendly and more polite than Americans. In this part of Canada, everyone speaks English (with different spellings and phrasings), but measurements are in kilometers and centigrade, vs. miles and Fahrenheit.
Many of the key issues don’t change when you cross the border: The consequences of climate change, drought, and fire danger. Managing COVID and avoiding infection. Concerns with inflation, the war in Ukraine, and other global issues.
Yet some American issues don’t really exist here. There’s virtually no gun violence on this side of the border. Health care is nationalized, which means no one dies in Canada because they can’t afford a vial of insulin. And the transition of power from one government to the next doesn’t include storming a government building or trying to invalidate the results of fairly held elections.
Is the Canadian system perfect? Definitely not. There is only a fraction of the number of people living on this side of the border, compared to the US, so not everything done here could ever be replicated in the US.
But are there things we can learn from our closest neighbor? Absolutely. The first step to implementing successful change is acknowledging that change is needed. Once that happens, all kinds of possibilities can open up, eh?
Check out our marketing thought 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 – August 25, 2022: There’s an App for that!
I’ve seen a lot of ads lately for new apps that help treat depression, improve your mental health, and prescribe you the medications you need to thrive (or treat sexual dysfunction).
Sounds terrific. Except when it doesn’t work, the consequences can be dire.
Take Cerebral, an app that offers “offers online psychiatric and therapeutic help for anxiety, depression, insomnia, ADHD & more…without leaving the comfort of your home.”
The problem is Cerebral has been prescribing controlled substances to thousands of people–through the app. What could possibly go wrong with that? Yep. The Dept. of Justice is investigating the company for incorrectly prescribing controlled substances and oversubscribing other medications.
Then there are the mental health apps that promise to offer you a cheap, easy way to get therapy without bothering to engage a therapist. Check the warning on these ads–they note that if you are suffering a serious mental health crisis, contact a professional.
Just like in any other field, there are therapists that are great, some that are mediocre, and some you want to avoid at all costs. But even those at the bottom of the list have professional training. They can refer you to other resources should you require additional help.
Apps to help you lose weight, exercise, learn a language, develop a new skill, etc. may all be helpful. But if they don’t work, you won’t find yourself in a serious health crisis or with a potential addiction problem.
Would you trust an app that tells you how to remove your own appendix? I didn’t think so. Let’s hope we don’t see an app for that in the future.
Check out our marketing thought 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
Top of Mind Thursday – August 18, 2022: Simply Wrong
Last week, I got sick while traveling. All the signs pointed to COVID: fever, body aches, fatigue, etc. Seemed like this was a slam-dunk. I even had the Paxlovid all queued up and ready to go.
Except it wasn’t. Five COVID tests (including 2 PCRs!) were all negative, as were a series of other tests. Yet, I still had double pneumonia and a fever that wouldn’t quit. Finally, late yesterday, the combination of drugs, supplements, and other treatments kicked in, the fever broke, and I’m on the way to recovery.
Here’s the thing: Everyone I talked to was pulled to what seemed the most obvious cause–and that was wrong.
Often, it makes sense to go with the simplest explanation. But sometimes what seems to be the obvious answer isn’t. It’s human nature to try and put things in categories, give unknowns a name, reduce the number of possible causes. While that works some of the time, sometimes we need to dig deeper to figure out what’s really happening.
Occam’s Razor says the simplest solution is usually correct. But sometimes that Razor ain’t so sharp.
Check out our marketing thought 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