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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday : August 5, 2021- Know When to Fold ‘Em
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is under siege.
Last December, a number of women came forward with claims of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. The state attorney general launched an independent investigation and the legislature began impeachment proceedings.
On Tuesday, the attorney general announced the report findings, which found the charges to be substantiated. She called for the governor’s resignation, as have other leading Democrats, including President Biden, both US senators from New York, the governors of PA, NJ, Connecticut, and RI, and the leader of the NY state Democratic Party.
While Cuomo continues to defend himself, his arguments are weak. Right now, it looks like he has the choice to resign or be forcibly removed from office. There are enough votes in the state legislature to impeach him.
Not all harassment allegations are taken this seriously. But just like it was impossible to watch the tape of George Floyd’s killing without questioning the actions of the police officers involved, looking at the evidence here is overwhelming. The investigation was thorough, and it appears to be non-partisan.
Cuomo’s long-time MO has been to bully people into doing what he wanted. Many former staffers talk of an ongoing culture of intimidation. Managing through fear does not create loyalty or encourage staffers to stand up for the boss when his misdeeds are exposed.
Just as importantly, this investigation sends a clear message: If you’re engaging in this behavior, it’s time to go. To quote Kenny Rogers, in The Gambler, you’ve got to know when to hold ’em, how when to fold ’em, how when to walk away, and know when to run.
Governor Cuomo–leave now. This is one gamble you’ve lost big time.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
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
Top of Mind Thursday : July 29, 2021 – Mental Gymnastics
Yogi Berra famously said, “Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”
This saying comes to mind during the current Summer Olympics, where we’ve seen superstar athletes like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka step back to protect their mental health. NBA star Kyrie Irving took a break during the past basketball season, citing a similar reason.
There’s no question that competing in some of the most watched global sporting events on the planet must be incredibly stressful. The more one succeeds, the more is expected of them in future competitions. Professionals who can provide appropriate mental health support should be part of the entourage of coaches and advisors that attend each world-class athlete.
However, champion athletes who pull back from competition because of the mental stress of competing under pressure seem to be unclear on the basic concept. The reason they are there is because they can perform at that high level. These are highly paid professionals who are at the pinnacle of their profession. They’ve been given a chance to prove themselves that thousands of people in their field would give their eye teeth to have.
Can you imagine Tom Brady showing up at the Super Bowl and telling his team he didn’t think he was as sharp as usual, so go with the backup quarterback? Even Brady has his bad days and loses big games, but he always shows up in uniform and acting like he is at the top of his game–regardless.
Baseball players like Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays must have faced incredible stress on a daily basis. Not only were they achieving amazing feats on the playing field, but, like Biles and Osaka, they were also fighting racial discrimination. How often do you think Robinson, Aaron, and Mays told their managers they weren’t up to their normal level of play and needed to be benched?
Athletes should have time off to recover from emotional issues, just as they do from physical injuries. But when an athlete returns to action, they need to show up prepared to deal with the pressures of the game.
Yogi Berra also said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Unless it’s over before you start.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
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
Top of Mind Thursday : July 22, 2021 – A Rose by Any Other Name
Critical race theory. Defund the police. These are just two of the phrases that are hotly debated in today’s society.
These words evoke strong emotions in listeners, and result in acrimonious arguments between those who agree and disagree with what they think the words mean.
Here’s the problem. When you dig a little deeper, we find that the real meaning of the phrase isn’t exactly what it seems.
For example, those who talk about defunding the police aren’t asking to fire police officers and bring anarchy to the streets. They want to remove police from situations where another entity (such as a mental health professional) would be better equipped to help. What they’re really suggesting might better be called refocus the police.
Critical race theory is not about being critical of all White people (as some have suggested). It’s about looking at the history of race relations in this country–the good and the bad–with a critical eye, including the perspective of those who suffered throughout our history. Perhaps a better name for this would have been something like From All Sides: The History of Race Relations in the US.
We had people say we couldn’t possibly have global warming when some areas were getting colder weather–leading to the phrase climate change. Veggie burgers have never been a big hit, but plant-based meat is flying off shelves.
The words you use to describe something matter. A rose by any other name may have smelled the same to Shakespeare, but today we need to be sure that the perception of a name might not be as sweet as we’d like.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
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
Top of Mind Thursday : July 15, 2021 – The Final Frontier
Last weekend, billionaire Richard Branson took a short trip to outer space on his own commercial spaceship.
Technically, Branson’s Virgin Galactic ship only “touched” the edge of space before safely returning to Earth after a short 90 minute flight. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the next high roller to launch into space within days on his own Blue Origin ship. Tesla founder Elon Musk, whose recycled SpaceX rocket ferried astronauts to the international space station in April, has bought a ticket on one of Branson’s upcoming space cruises.
Some of the richest men in the world are spending billions of dollars to launch themselves into outer space. Is there a real benefit to this expensive endeavor? Or is this just the world’s longest ego trip?
Branson noted how much the Earth already depends on space–our communications are highly dependent on orbiting satellites, for instance. He alluded to the potential space has to help us solve Earthbound problems.
Can there really be that kind of reward for commercial space travel? Less than 80 years ago, IBM founder Thomas Watson saw no use for the computer–predicting there was a market for maybe five of them worldwide. He was off by only a few billion (so far).
It’s too soon to know what will come of regular journeys to space. But we owe it to ourselves to go where no one has gone before to find out.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
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