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Top of Mind Thursday – June 5, 2025: No, We’re Not OK
Last Sunday, a radicalized Egyptian immigrant attacked a peaceful group of Jewish men and women walking through Boulder, CO in a weekly march to call attention to the plight of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The terrorist shouted, “End Zionists” and “Free Palestine” as he lit people on fire with molotov cocktails—injuring 16 people, several quite seriously.
As bad as this incident was, it could have been much worse. When captured, the man was found to have another 16 bottles of flammable liquid he didn’t get to throw. He also said he’d tried to get automatic weapons, but because he had overstayed his visa, that wasn’t possible.
This was the third major incident in less than two months: A terrorist tried to burn down the PA Governor’s Mansion on Passover, and two weeks ago, two young staffers from the Israeli embassy were gunned down in cold blood as they left a diplomatic event.
It seems like random attacks on Jewish people are becoming more and more common—and more and more accepted. While the FBI immediately labeled the Boulder attack terrorism, most of the news media avoided doing so for hours and hours. What was his motive, they asked. Listen to the video. He told you exactly what his motive was, as well as the fact he’d planned this attack for over a year.
Given what we’ve seen over the last 20 months since Hamas brutally attacked Israel, these attacks are shocking but not surprising. Jewish students have been threatened and attacked on college campuses, synagogues and Jewish centers have had to cancel events and harden security, and now terror attacks are happening in random places across the country on a regular basis.
Even worse, has been the response—or lack thereof—of the American public. If this were any other ethnic group, we’d likely see outrage and action taken to prevent further attacks of this nature. In this case, we are too often met with silence.
To those who stand up to support us, we say thank you—your efforts are appreciated. To those who have not bothered to ask the question, let me tell you the answer. No, we are not OK. And we won’t be OK until this type of terror is no longer tolerated.
Here’s the point many people seem to miss. The motto of these jihadists and terrorists is Death to Jews, Death to Israel, Death to America, perhaps not necessarily in that order.
So if we’re not OK, you’re not OK either.
Check out our marketing 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 – May 29, 2025: In Short Supply
Thank you. I appreciate your time and effort.
Simple words, but they seem to be quite scarce these days.
I am hearing more and more stories of people engaged in conversations with potential employers, customers, or prospects where all of the sudden the other party disappears. One minute, there’s a healthy discussion. The next—nothing. They’ve been ghosted—sometimes for a week or more; sometimes forever.
Whether or not you choose to work with someone on an ongoing basis, it used to be considered common courtesy to close the loop after an interview or serious discussion. But common courtesy seems to be in short supply in today’s world.
If you’ve taken the time to interview a candidate or potential supplier, how hard it is to let them know you won’t be continuing the process? A short text saying, “Thanks for your time. We’re going in a different direction,” takes less than 30 seconds to compose and send. Yet this makes a world of difference to the person on the other side.
Just as importantly, a little courtesy shows the world you’re a professional. In many industries, people show up again and again over the years. You never know when you might decide you’d like to work with that person in the future. Or, conversely, when you might need something from them.
How many times a day do you encounter someone who would appreciate a kind word? Want to request something extra from a service provider, waitress, or flight attendant? How about asking them how their day is before you tell them how bad they’re making yours?
And when you take the time to meet and interview someone, please, please, please, take the time to acknowledge the interaction and close the loop. They’ll thank you for it.
Check out our marketing 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 – May 22, 2025: Old Assumptions
This past weekend, former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones.
The outpouring of support for the Biden family as Joe fights an uphill battle against this disease has been mixed with speculation as to why this diagnosis wasn’t made earlier. Oncology experts say it is highly unlikely this just happened—it’s more realistic to think the cancer has been present for years. This led pundits to speculate Biden has been keeping this from the public, just as his aides kept his deteriorating mental condition from us when he ran for re-election.
But yesterday, we learned that it had been over 10 years since the 82-year-old president had the critical PSA test that would have exposed the likelihood of prostate cancer. Why? Because current medical guidelines don’t recommend PSA screening in men over 72 years old.
It’s disturbing that the president of the United States isn’t getting the full complement of medical testing—in his position this should be required because of his age, not in spite of it. But what’s also disturbing is that the recommendations for testing presume that someone aged 72 is old.
A century ago, when social security was first implemented, 65 was chosen as the retirement age, because most people left their jobs at 65, went home and “retired” to die shortly thereafter. Today, there are over 7 million people in their 80s in the US, 2.7 million people in their 90s, and over 100,000 centenarians. These numbers will only rise as the large Baby Boomer population ages and medical advances continue.
Don’t we want to keep those people healthy as they live their last two or three decades? Beyond the ethical issues of using outdated assumptions on aging to justify withholding medical treatments from those who could benefit, the economic benefits of keeping the population as healthy as possible for as long as possible are enormous and might reach into the billions of dollars per year.
Even though Joe Biden’s condition is quite serious, there are medical advances that may be able to control or limit the cancer’s spread and keep him alive and healthy for at least some period of time. However, if this had been caught 10 years ago, it might not even be an issue today for the former president.
For the rest of us, it’s time to throw out the old assumptions and not restrict medical care for those who still may benefit from it. The life you save may be your own, or that of a loved one.
Check out our marketing 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 – May 15, 2025: A Dozen Years Later
This week marks the 12th anniversary of this newsletter.
Back in 2013, I didn’t know how this would work out. Would people read it? Would they care? And how long could I keep doing this every single week?
Well, here we are—624 issues later. We’ve been through a lot together—4 presidential administrations; wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Pakistan; social justice, racism, antisemitism; business successes and failures; trade wars; and the implications of diplomatic tensions between the US and many of its long-term partners. Oh, and let’s not forget that little COVID pandemic thing that threw the whole planet for a loop for a couple of years.
Yet, a dozen years later, I’m still here, and so are all of you. We may not agree on all issues, but I appreciate the fact that you are still reading this and letting me know when something resonates, as well as when you think I’ve missed the mark.
My goal now remains what it was then—to provide you with a quick thought each week relating what’s going on in the world to business and marketing. Short, sweet, and to the point.
That’s what’s Top of Mind for me this week. Thanks for coming along on the ride.
Check out our marketing 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