Figuratively Speaking

Rank of Betty White on the list of America's favorite and most trusted personalities, and the one whose endorsement of a company would be most likely to drive business, according to an Ipsos poll: 1

Ranks of Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Paris Hilton, Charlie Sheen, Britney Spears and Kanye West on the list of the most unpopular celebrities: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Estimated number of times an area the size of Disneyland would be covered by towels laid down by holiday-makers to reserve sun loungers this summer, according to research by Virgin Holidays: 3

Number of hours of holiday time spent each year searching for a spare sun lounger by the pool or beach: 1.8 million

Percentage of those who couldn't find a sun-bed who said it was because the beds were pre-reserved with a towel: 62

Source: Virgin Holidays.

Percentage of workers who described their direct supervisor's performance as poor or very poor: 20

Rank of "plays favorites," "doesn't follow through on what he/she promises" and "doesn't listen to concerns" on the list of workers' top concerns about management: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of high school students who wished that their current high school offered financial literacy courses for them and their families to prepare for college costs, according to a study by the College Savings Foundation: 52

Percentage of students planning to borrow to go to college who have projected the total amount they will have to borrow: 30

Percentage who have projected the total monthly loan repayment amount that they will have to pay after graduation: 22

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Estimated number of U.S. adults who pay their bills late, according to a 2009 National Foundation for Credit Counseling survey: 58 million

Amount consumers spent in credit card bill late fees in 2009: $20 billion

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research.

Percentage of middle-income baby boomers between ages 47 and 65 with income between $25,000 and $75,000 who have not seen any rebound in the value of their retirement accounts, according to a study released by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement: 21

Percentage who report owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth: 16

Percentage who have less than $10,000 in retirement savings: 19

Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Co.

Percentage of workers who wish that they had more skills -- "hard" skills such as a degree or knowledge of a trade or industry and/or "soft" skills such as emotional, social, leadership and organizational intelligence, according to a survey for Randstad: 62

Percentage of employed adults who would be willing to take at least one step to get the skills needed for a better job: 64

When asked how much they would be willing to pay out of pocket for continued education or training, percentage of all employed adults who said that they wouldn't be willing to spend any of their own money: 48

Source: Randstad-USA.

Percentage of high school students who begin their college search as early as sophomore year, according to a study by Eduventures Inc. (The College Bound Market Update): 42

Mean number of applications made by high school students in their search: 7.3

Percentage of students who apply to 10 or more colleges and universities: 20

Source: Eduventures.

Percentage of Americans who interpret the Bible literally, saying it is the actual word of God, according to a Gallup poll: 30

Percentage of Americans who say the Bible is the inspired word of God, but that it should not be taken literally: 49

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of business leaders who believe a 1 percent pricing improvement can boost profits, according to a poll by Deloitte: 82

When describing their companies' current pricing management, percentage of leaders who indicated that their company doesn't pursue pricing management strategically: 22

Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services.

Idle Thought

"It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." -- Moliere

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of consumers who plan to delay back-to-school spending, banking instead on last-minute offers, according to shopping website PriceGrabber: 49

In 2010, percentage of shoppers who said they were leaving their back-to-school purchases until the last minute: 38

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe that anonymity on the Internet has made us less civil, according to the results from an IBOPE-Zogby poll: 60

Percentage of people who say anonymity on the Internet has to go away -- that people behave a lot better when they have their real names down: 21

Percentage of respondents who believe that requiring real names suppresses dialogue about important topics: 49

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who agree they "have become a much smarter shopper thanks to today's economic situation," according to a Ypartnership/Harrison Group survey: 77

Among leisure travelers who have used the Internet to obtain travel information or to make a reservation, percentage who say the most desirable feature in a travel-service supplier website is the ability to check the lowest fares/rates: 84

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Average value of a 1- to 3-year-old used vehicle in 2008, according to the Kelley Blue Book: $15,000

In response to supply reductions due to the recession, average value of a 1- to 3-year-old used vehicle in 2011, an average increase of nearly 16 percent each year: $23,000

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of consumers who would be willing to sacrifice some convenience and provide an additional level of authentication online (something in addition to a password) before accessing their bank or investment account if the process provided greater security, according to a Zogby Interactive survey of U.S. adults: 78

Percentage of consumers who said they believe banks -- not government -- are "most responsible" for securing customers' financial assets: 66

Source: Booz Allen Hamilton.

Percentage of parents who are looking to education loans to pay for their children's college -- most of which will be signed over to their children, according to the fifth annual College Savings Foundation survey of parents: 48

Percentage of these loans that will take from five to beyond 20 years to pay off: 68

Percentage of parents who expect to cobble together some funds from current income: 60

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Number of barrels of oil consumed per day globally in 2010, an all-time high, according to a Vital Signs Online report from the Worldwatch Institute: 87.4 million

Percentage annual increase this represents, making up for the brief decline in consumption caused by the economic crisis: 3.1

Percentage of the increase in consumption that came from China, which now uses over 10 percent of the world's oil: 33

Source: WorldWatch Institute.

Percentage of companies that believe that open office plans -- which cause staff to be more visible to one another -- generally promote improved ethical behavior when compared to having individual offices, according to a survey conducted by Ethisphere Institute and Jones Lang LaSalle: 81

Percentage of respondents implementing open workspace that have not had any visible ethical violations within the past two years: 64

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle.

Percentage of British women who said they started to consider cosmetic surgery between the ages of 10 and 15, according to a survey by Liberate Cosmetic Surgery: 25

Percentage who had considered cosmetic surgery between the ages of 15 and 18: 33

Source: Liberate Cosmetic Surgery.

Percentage of marketers, communications experts and researchers from 40 countries convened at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, who indicated they believe that social marketing is at a critical turning point in driving social change, according to participants at the 2nd World Non-Profit and Social Marketing Conference (WSMC): 84

Percentage of respondents who feel that social marketing is widely used in their country to drive social and behavior change: 31

Percentage who report that it is somewhat widely used: 53

Source: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

Idle Thought

"It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not." -- Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of Americans who agree that getting hooked on good habits starts with making smarter choices in life, according to a survey conducted by ORC International on behalf of Nestle Waters North America Inc.: 97

Percentage who say they find it easier to break a bad habit when they can replace it with a good one: 88

Source: Opinion Research Corp.

Percentage of large organizations that make minimal or no effort to identify high-performing employees, according to a survey of senior managers and executives conducted by AMA Enterprise: 27

Percentage of managers who described their organization's efforts to identify high potentials as mostly informal: 44

Percentage who described them as a combination of informal and systematic: 42

Source: AMA Enterprise.

Percentage of Americans who report having less respect for someone who smokes, according to a Gallup Poll: 25

Percentage who say they have less respect for a person who is overweight: 12

Percentage of U.S. smokers who now agree that smoking is "very harmful" to adults who smoke, tying the highest percentage who have ever said so: 67

Percentage of Americans who agree that secondhand smoke is very harmful: 54

Source: Gallup.

Projected amount of money that families with children in grades K to 12 will spend on clothes, school supplies and electronics compared with $606.40 last year, according to findings from a National Retail Federation survey: $603.63

Percentage of parents who said the economy is forcing them to shop smarter -- that they will be scouring bedroom closets and desks to take stock of what their children already have before making any purchase decisions: 43.7

Estimated amount of money back-to-school and back-to-college sales combined will reach: $68 billion

Source: National Retail Federation.

Although Congress and President Obama have agreed to raise the debt ceiling, percentage of Americans who say that the debt ceiling debate has made them feel less confident in the economy, according to the August RBC Consumer Outlook Index: 54

Percentage who say that it has made them less confident in their own finances and investments: 42

Percentage of Americans who say the U.S. is on the wrong path: 76

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of young Americans age 18 to 29 who either have delayed or will delay a major life change or purchase due the economic factors, according to a poll by Generation Opportunity: 77

Percentage who will delay buying a home: 44

Percentage who will delay saving for retirement: 28

Source: Generation Opportunity.

Percentage of adults who own a mobile phone, according to research from Experian Simmons: 90

Percentage of teens who own a mobile phone: 70

Percentage of kids who own a mobile phone: 20

Percentage of cellphone owners today who believe their phone will be the primary device for their entertainment needs in the future: 29

Source: Experian Public Relations.

Estimated decline in the number of nonemployer businesses -- those without paid employees; often including real estate agents, beauticians and construction contractors -- between 2008 and 2009, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau: 260,000

Ranks of Texas (8,260), Georgia (3,336), Louisiana (1,871) and the District of Columbia (462) on the list of states that added the most nonemployer firms between 2008 and 2009: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Estimated amount of traditional TV that women watch per month more than men, though men consistently spend more time streaming video online, according to the Nielsen Cross-Platform Report: 16 hours

Rank of Asians on the list of leaders in time spent watching video on the Internet, averaging six-plus hours more per month than whites, and nearly four hours more per month than the next closest ethnic group -- Hispanics: 1

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings.

Number of times more effective that senior leaders who coach, develop and hold others accountable for coaching and development are at producing improved business and talent results, according to research from Bersin and Associates: 3

Percentage of senior leaders who actively coach on a regular basis: 11

Source: Bersin and Associates.

Idle Thought

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." -- Mark Twain, author and humorist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)