Ranks of strategic thinking, leadership, communication, developing direct reports and motivating people on the list of skills that middle managers need to improve, according to ClearRock, an outplacement and executive coaching firm: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of companies that viewed their middle managers as unqualified to be promoted to the next level: 33

Percentage that rated their middle managers as "very qualified": 6

Source: ClearRock.

Percentage of Americans who say that the best way to sell their car would be to do it privately, according to a survey conducted by on behalf of CarMax: 36

Percentage who would opt to trade it in at a dealership: 30

Source: CarMax.

Percentage of working dads who report that they spend two hours or fewer per day with their children during the workweek, according to CareerBuilder survey: 39

Percentage who said they have missed a significant event in their child's life in the last year due to work: 50

Percentage who have missed more than three: 28

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of travelers who have been camping, according to the results of TripAdvisor's camping and "glamping" survey: 88

Percentage who have been "glamorous camping," which may include electricity, beds and room service: 15

Percentage who claim to be familiar with the term glamping: 13

Of those who have never been glamping, percentage who said they were more attracted to the idea of glamping than traditional camping, once given a definition: 65

Source: TripAdvisor.

In reaction to the tough economic situation of the Depression, year the Penguin Publishing House brought out the first modern paperback book, a biography of the poet Shelley, and began publishing a cheaper softcover format, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1935

In spite of competition from television and computers, estimated number of books that Americans buy annually: 3 billion

Percentage of these that are in softcover: 50

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of workers who confirmed that their workplace perks had been taken away during the current recession, according to a survey by Quiznos: 70

Percentage who indicated that a paid vacation day is the compensation they'd most like to have in return for lost perks: 60

Source: Quiznos.

Percentage of Americans who agree that they currently have access to all of the health care services they need without it costing them more than they can afford, according to an Ipsos poll: 49

Percentage of Canadian adults who feel this way: 65

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Average annual saving in gasoline bills for those consumers who replace their clunker with a new fuel-efficient vehicle, according to CashForClunkersInformation.org's statistics from their "Clunker Report": $750

Percentage of clunkers traded in that are SUVs, trucks and vans with over 100,000 miles: 79

Average age of the trade-ins: 13 years

Source: Cars.com.

Percentage of Americans who would prefer to see their child lose the "big game" but display great sportsmanship, rather than come out on top, according to the national survey fielded for the Awards and Recognition Association by TNS: 94

Percentage of Americans from ages 20 to 80-plus who still think sportsmanship is worse now than in previous years: 85

Source: ARA.

Percentage of Americans who disapprove of the new law expanding the federal government's power to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products, according to a Gallup Poll: 52

Percentage who approve off the new law: 46

Percentage of Americans who say smoking should be made "totally illegal" in this country: 17

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and Woodstock, and the recent death of iconic CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, percentage of U.S. adults who said that the historic legacy of the baby boomer generation (born 1946 to 1964) would be self-indulgence and consumerism, according to a Zogby poll: 42

Percentage who said they will be remembered for bringing lasting change in social and cultural values and ending a war: 27

Percentage who said "nothing at all": 11

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of parents who are more prepared to talk to their children about drugs and alcohol than money and finances, according to a survey conducted for ING Direct: 39

Percentage of parents who are more prepared to talk to their children about the birds and bees or dating than money and finances: 27

Source: ING Direct's Sharebuilder 401(k).

Percentage of men who look for wife potential in a girlfriend, according to the results from the second annual AskMen.com "Great Male Survey": 84

Percentage who believe that they should pay for the majority of dates at least until a relationship is established: 85

Source: AskMen.com.

Percentage of senior executives who said that it is common for candidates with promising resumes not to live up to expectations during the interview, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 72

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of workers age 55 and older who were laid off in the last 12 months who found new jobs, the lowest of all age groups, according to a study from CareerBuilder: 28

Percentage of those ages 25 to 34 who found new jobs: 71

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of workers who say they do not have qualified managers, according to Randstad's annual World of Work report: 51

Percentage of workers who want nothing to do with climbing the corporate ladder to management: 49

While generation Y'ers most fear managing disgruntled employees, percentage of generation X'ers, boomers and mature workers for whom stress is the main deterrent: 82

Source: Randstad-USA.

Number of unmarried Americans (includes those who were never married, widowed or divorced) 18 and older in 2008, representing 43 percent of all U.S. residents 18 and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 95.9 million

Number of unmarried Americans 18 and older who were women: 53 million

Percentage of unmarried Americans 18 and older who had never been married: 61

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who say they wouldn't be able to pay their bills on time if they went more than one month between jobs, according to a survey by Country Financial: 49

Percentage who say they would tap their savings to cope with a shortfall in income if they lost their job: 50

Percentage who would rely on retirement accounts: 16

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of Americans who are willing to make sacrifices for a free lunch, according to a survey for Quiznos: 75

Percentage who are even willing to commit "refrigerator theft," and have admitted to having taken a coworker's lunch out of the refrigerator: 14

Percentage of respondents who would attend an in-law's retirement party or a business meeting for a free lunch: 50

Percentage who said they would go on a blind date if it meant a gratis meal: 20

Source: Quiznos.

Percentage of senior executives and managers who work 41 to 60 hours a week, according to a worldwide survey conducted by NFI Research: 77

Percentage of business leaders who work 11 hours or more a day: 11

Percentage of businesspeople who work 10 or more hours a day: 40

Source: NFI Research.

Idle Thought

"How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success." -- Madame Anne Sophie Swetchine

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

Percentage of parents of a child performing at an above average level who say that they tend to use praise rather than tangible rewards to motivate their child to do their homework, according to an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Kumon Math and Reading Centers: 86

Percentage who report that they tend to use punishment, such as the removal of privileges, rather than rewards or praise to encourage their children to get their schoolwork done: 11

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Number of years that executives in America's biggest companies estimate it will take for the collective reputation of CEOs to fully recover, according to a survey conducted by leading global public relations firm Weber Shandwick with KRC Research: 3

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Percentage of advertising and marketing executives who have experienced at least one cringe-inducing moment after they've hit "send" on an e-mail, according to a survey developed by The Creative Group: 78

Source: The Creative Group.

Percentage of travelers who agree that people should not be allowed to "save" beachside or poolside chairs by getting up early and leaving their stuff on the chairs for hours, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 84

Ranks of blasting loud music, smoking and urinating in the water on the list of the most annoying beach and pool etiquette violations: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

Estimated number of Americans who lost their jobs in the first three months of the year, with more than 6 million jobs lost since the recession began, according to the American Bankers Association's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin: 2 million

Rise in bank card delinquencies from 4.52 percent in the previous quarter to 4.75 percent of all accounts: 23 basis points

Rise in the balances on those delinquent accounts to 6.60 percent of the value of all outstanding bank card debt, marking a new record: 108 basis points

Source: American Bankers Association.

Percentage of employed executives with an average annual salary of $206,000 who are satisfied or very satisfied with their current job -- up from 61 percent in 2008 and 53 percent in 2007, according to a survey by ExecuNet: 70

Average percentage of sales, engineering and IT executives who are most likely to be happy at work: 61

Average percentage of marketing, human resource and consulting executives who are most likely to be happy at work: 75

Source: ExecuNet.

Percentage of consumers who have made changes in their lives to manage cash flow more effectively by opting to use cash over other payment options, according to NCR Corp.'s 2009 self-service consumer survey conducted by BuzzBack Market Research: 50

Percentage who are using ATMs more frequently for smaller withdrawals: 30

Percentage who are paying bills just before the due dates: 40

Source: NCR Corp.

In July 1776, estimated number of people living in the United States of America, a newly independent nation, according to statistics quoted by the U.S. Census Bureau: 2.5 million

Estimated population today: 307 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of the active online universe that is made up of children ages 2 to 11, according to Nielsen: 9.5 (equivalent to 16 million people)

Since 2004, percentage increase in the number of kids online -- with a fairly even split between boys and girls: 18

Percentage increase in time spent online among children ages 2 to 11 in the last five years, from nearly seven hours in May 2004 to more than 11 hours online in May 2009: 63

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of those who belong to loyalty programs who want improvements made to their memberships, according to a survey from hotels.com: 93

Percentage who want fewer restrictions on how they can use their program benefits: 59

Percentage who don't think the value-added bonus is ever really as great as the program wants them to believe: 37

Source: Hotels.com.

Idle Thought

"A man should live with his superiors as he does with his fire: not too near, lest he burn; nor too far off, lest he freeze." -- Diogenes, philosopher

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