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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
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
Top of Mind Thursday, March 18, 2021: Having a Bad Day
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.
Supposedly, the killer told police he was trying to fight a sex addiction by targeting places that might “tempt” him. The fact that he specifically went to Asian spas and shot Asian women is suspicious–in the midst of a pandemic that the former US president again this week called “the China virus.”
Asian Americans have been unfairly targeted as somehow causing or spreading COVID-19. Hate crimes against this demographic group spiked 150% in the year since the pandemic began–nearly 3800 events were recorded, and that’s likely only a fraction of what actually occurred. Even in the Bay Area, with a substantial Asian population, there has been violence against Asian Americans in San Francisco, Oakland, and other neighborhoods.
Yet, the police spokesman who addressed the press last night said of the gunman, “He was having a bad day.”
Really?
When you’re having a bad day, you might snap at your spouse or significant other, be intolerant to your kids, act rudely to a grocery clerk, or even cut someone off on the freeway. But someone who deliberately murders innocent people at three different locations (and appears to have been headed south to Florida to wreak even more violence), is not having a bad day. They’re allowing unfounded bias and poor judgment to convince them to commit unspeakable crimes. It’s not their day that’s bad, it’s their character.
Trivializing a crime like this helps no one–except, perhaps, others with the same sick ideas. We all need to stand up and speak out for this group and others that are unfairly targeted because of their race, religion, ethnicity, or country of origin.
March 26, the anniversary of the Naturalization Act of 1790 has been designated as a day of peaceful protest against Asian American hatred and violence. Regardless of your ethnicity, it’s time to stand up and support our friends and neighbors.
It’s time to give bigots a bad 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 11, 2011 : What a Difference a Year Makes
This week, we mark the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exactly a year ago, we were overcoming the shock of learning a deadly disease was about to ravage not just a few countries, but the entire globe. The world as we knew it began to change dramatically.
Since then, over 520,000 Americans alone have died from COVID-19 and nearly 29 million people became infected. We were introduced to the concept of social distancing, learned the meaning of WFH, the pros and cons of remote learning for teaching kids, and how to spell Zoom. As many as 18 million people were put out of work at one point, and 8 million people slipped into poverty at a result of the pandemic. And no one could find any toilet paper!
But there have been bright spots in this gloominess. An unprecedented global collaborative effort resulted in the creation of multiple safe and effective vaccines in an extremely short period of time. We’ve learned how mask-wearing prevents infection. We’ve developed a much better understanding of the importance of those lower-paid workers who keep the economy running. We’ve even given them a much classier name: essential workers.
We’ve seen entrepreneurship and creativity flourish. We’ve seen the incredible dedication of medical personnel and first responders. We’ve seen communities come together to help and support those in need.
As we move to what’s next, what lessons will we learn? What habits are worth keeping, and what behaviors should we not ever tolerate? What innovations should we continue to adopt and where are we better off going back to the way things were done before all this started?
Where will be next March? What difference will a year make?
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