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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday : August 19, 2021- It’s Deja Vu All over Again
After nearly 20 years, the US is about to finally leave Afghanistan and the result is not pretty.
The photographs are horrific–thousands of people clinging to the sides of military transports, trying to escape the country. American sympathizers executed. Women being forced back into hiding behind heavy cloaked garb. And that’s only week 1.
It appears that the US military knew the government they installed and protected would not be able to withstand the force of the Taliban. It’s just that no one figured the whole structure would crumble in a matter of hours and days, rather than months.
It’s estimated that over the course of the conflict, over 6000 Americans and 164,000 Afghans lost their lives. The total monetary cost is estimated at between $2 and $6 trillion dollars.
And what do we have to show for it? Thousands of desperate people trying to flee an oppressive, misogynist regime. Some of these were employed as translators for the American military–they are now targeted as enemies of the state.
President Biden is bearing the brunt of the criticism for what’s happening in Kabul and surroundings today. But he is the 4th American president to preside over this conflict: What had any of the others done to prevent this debacle?
We could speculate as to what we might have done differently over the last two decades (besides not ever invading to begin with). Now, we have to act to do the right thing today, given the current situation. We need to expedite asylum for those who were connected to the Americans. We need to support refugees fleeing the country in droves. And we have to learn what not to do so this doesn’t happen again.
It’s been 46 years since the fall of Saigon, but it doesn’t look like we’ve learned a darn thing. If we don’t take time to truly understand what’s going on in Kabul now, we’ll be seeing another situation like this one in the near future. It’ll be deja vu all over again.
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 : August 12, 2021- Will the Postman Still Knock Twice?
The US Postal Service used to pride itself on delivering the mail anywhere, anytime, under any condition.
Those were the good old days. Over the last several years, postal service has continued to degrade. Yes, there is less paper mail being distributed, but there are plenty of packages–witness how UPS and Fedex are struggling to meet demand.
Instead of looking for ways to introduce more products and services that would be attractive in this day and age, the USPS has made the decision to take its existing services and make them slower and less attractive.
Huh?
Can you imagine your dentist telling you they’ve slowed down the cleaning process, so it will now take 4 hours instead of 20 minutes? What if your oil change took two days instead of an hour? How about if Dominos pizza delivered sometime the next day instead of in 30 minutes or less?
There is no precedent I can think of for an organization making their existing services worse and coming out better for it.
What can the USPS do instead? How about looking for new opportunities to use their existing resources: hundreds of thousands of employees who know their local neighborhoods, plus one of the largest real estate portfolios in the nation.
The possibilities are amazing. But not if the people who run the USPS continue to knock their heads against the wall.
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 : 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