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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday, April 15, 2021: Consequences
On Sunday, an unarmed 20-year-old Black man was shot and killed by a local police officer during a traffic stop outside Minneapolis.
The officer and police chief both called this an error: The officer meant to reach for her taser, but pulled out the gun and fired a single bullet instead. They called this “an accidental discharge.”
After the fact, it’s easy to say, we shouldn’t have done something–that it was a mistake. The problem is some mistakes are minor, and some are life-changing, or in this case, life-extinguishing.
The officer involved resigned from the force and has been charged with manslaughter. The fact that she made a mistake doesn’t change the outcome. Why was she even reaching for a taser anyway? Was that necessary?
Accidents have consequences. A drunk driver who hits a pedestrian likely did this by mistake (we hope!)–but the pedestrian is still dead and the driver will still face manslaughter charges.
The time to consider the consequences of our actions is before we take them–not after. Thinking through potential courses of action in stressful situations allows us to keep our wits about us and act in a way that is less likely to cause a negative result. The reason “Sully” Sullenberger could safely land a damaged plane on the Hudson is because his training included that unlikely scenario.
Shooting first and asking questions later is always a bad idea–whether we’re talking about bullets or business decisions. And that’s no accident.
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, April 8, 2021: Building Blocks
Last week, President Joe Biden introduced a $2 trillion plan to invest in American infrastructure.
The plan includes money for housing, electric vehicles, roads and bridges, schools, the electrical grid, public transit, railways, high-speed broadband, and more.
It’s a huge investment, and it’s unlikely to pass Congress in its current state. Still, whatever is finally passed will be a huge boost to jobs and the economy–in addition to improving our daily lives.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen what happens when the electrical grid is overwhelmed, or roads and bridges crumble. COVID-19 taught us how important high-speed broadband is to basic participation in school and work in today’s world, and why modern ventilation in school buildings is not a want but a must.
These issues have been put off time and time again, because this is such a huge endeavor. But the problem is, if you don’t take the first step, the big problems not only remain, they continue to get worse as time goes on.
In one sense, it doesn’t matter where we start to improve on infrastructure, just that we actually get started. With as many building blocks as possible.
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, April 1, 2021: Where Fools Fear to Tread
It’s April Fool’s Day today!
In any other year, I could try to prank you by making a strange claim and see if you’d believe me. But this year has been so strange, it already feels like an April Fool’s Day prank.
If only we could pretend that over 500,000 Americans hadn’t died from COVID–including at least some to whom we each have a personal connection. If only the idea of people refusing to wear masks or become vaccinated was not a real phenomenon.
If only the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol was only a figment of our imagination–and those 5 deaths and 140+ injuries didn’t really result from the actions of the mob that day.
If only we could forget the video of a Minneapolis police officer murdering George Floyd by keeping his knee on Floyd’s throat for over 9 minutes…and then pretend no sworn peace officers would ever behave in this heinous way.
If only we’d wake up to find that the mass murders in Atlanta and Boulder and all those other places didn’t really happen this past year–and that the racism, misogyny, homophobia and anti-Asian hate that’s arisen as a result of the pandemic isn’t actually happening.
Here’s the thing. Pretending these things aren’t real doesn’t help one bit. The way to move beyond these atrocities is to address them straight on and take the necessary actions so they don’t happen again.
If we look the other way and pretend not to notice, we’re guaranteeing these situations will come back and hit us again and again. And then the joke will be on us–every day.
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, March 25, 2021 : The Definition of Insanity
Last night, eight people at three different massage spas were murdered in the Atlanta, GA. Six of the eight victims were Asian; the suspect in custody is White.
Last week, it was the murder of mostly Asian Americans in the Atlanta, GA area. This week, a gunman mowed down 10 people in a supermarket in Boulder, CO.
That makes 103 mass shootings in the first 82 days of the year–compared to 66 such events by this time in 2020. In spite of the pandemic, nearly 20,000 Americans died from gun violence last year (not counting suicides).
Every time one of these events happens, the public is “shocked,” “horrified,” “stunned,” etc. We hear the standard line “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” followed by, “We need to reform gun laws in this country,” and “Now is not the time to have these discussions.”
The bottom line: Nothing changes. The rate of deaths by gun violence in the US outpaces most Western countries–and is significantly higher than many lower income developing countries as well. Yet, we can’t seem to get even basic safety regulations in place: restrictions on sales to those with a history of mental illness or violence, gun safety education, or waiting periods for gun purchase.
Compare this to the Tylenol poisoning situation in 1982. After 7 people died from product tampering, the entire system of product packaging for food and medications was revamped. Seven people. That’s less than half the people killed in just the past week’s mass shootings.
Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Until there’s the collective will to do something about this, the gun violence situation in America will fit the definition of insanity.
But it’s not the shooters who are insane–it’s the rest of us for not doing anything to address the situation.
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