Percentage of global executives who say talent management is the single most important corporate strategy for their company to implement -- and they indicate it is more critical than marketing (26 percent), financial management (21 percent) and capitalization (7 percent), according to results from a survey of global executives by Korn/Ferry International: 45

Percentage who say they do not believe their company has the right management team over the next 12 months: 43

Percentage who do not believe they will have the right team five years from now: 56

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

In 2011, percentage of U.S. households that hold some form of debt, down from 74 percent in 2000, according to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau: 69

In 2011, median amount of household debt, up from $50,971 (in 2011 constant dollars): $70,000

Source: Census Bureau - Bernstein.

Percentage of single baby boomers who would prefer to date someone about their same age, according to Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey data: 44

Percentage of men who want to date a younger or "much younger" woman, compared to 22 percent of women who say they would prefer to date a younger or much younger man: 63

Source: Del Webb.

Percentage of Americans who find gathering the required paperwork the most frustrating part of filing their taxes, according to a survey conducted for RetailMeNot: 30

Percentage who find the most frustrating part is waiting to get a refund: 20

Percentage who say that finding they owe additional taxes most frustrating: 19

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of small-business owners who indicate that a crashed computer is more disruptive than a sick employee, according to a survey by Brother International Corp.: 75

Percentage who noted that a tech malfunction has negatively impacted their business through a missed deadline or business opportunity: 77

Source: Brother International.

Percentage of Americans who confess to having passed off frozen meals as their own culinary creation, according to a survey by Nestle USA: 25

Percentage who admitted to having "accidentally" stolen a frozen meal from the freezer at work: 14

Percentage of respondents who said they've tried to create their own version of a favorite frozen meal: 31

Source: Nestle Confections & Snacks.

Percentage of Americans who agree that "a product needs to be manufactured within the U.S. for me to consider it 'American,'" putting domestic manufacture ahead of the importance of being from a U.S. company, being made from American parts, or being American designed, according to a Harris Poll: 75

Percentage of U.S. adults who agree that "a product needs to be made by a U.S. company for me to consider it 'American'": 52

Source: Harris Interactive.

During the last recession, percentage better on average that residential property values performed if they were located near public transportation with high-frequency service, according to a study released by the American Public Transportation Association and the National Association of Realtors: 42

Number of times more jobs (per square mile) there are in neighborhoods with high-frequency public transportation compared to other areas in a given region: 5

Source: American Public Transportation Association.

Percentage of the world's adults who say they would like to leave their country and move somewhere else permanently, according to a Gallup poll: 13 (or about 630 million people)

Number of people for whom that somewhere else would be the U.S. -- the No. 1 desired destination for potential migrants: 138 million

Source: Gallup Organization.

Number of Christians there are around the world, up from about 600 million in 1910, according to a study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life: 2.18 billion

Because the world's overall population also has risen rapidly, from an estimated 1.8 billion in 1910 to 6.9 billion in 2010, percentage of the world's population who are Christian today, down from 35 percent a century ago: 32

Percentage of the world's Christians who live in Europe and the Americas, down from 93 percent in 1910: 63

Source: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Idle Thought

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." -- Bill Gates

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

Percentage of the boomerang generation (ages 25 to 34) who currently live with Mom and Dad or temporarily moved home during the recession, according to Pew Research Center research: 29

Among this group, percentage who say they're satisfied with their living arrangements: 78

Percentage of boomerang children who report that they have paid rent to their parents: 48

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of U.S. workers who skip breakfast on a regular basis before hitting the road for work, according to a study conducted for CareerBuilder: 23

Among those who do squeeze in a quick meal, rank of cereal, fruit and eggs on the list of the top breakfast choices: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Year of the first publication of the "Ten Most Wanted" list by the FBI, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1950

In the years since, number of men and women who have appeared on the list: 497

Of these, number who have been apprehended or located: 467

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Visa, Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Procter and Gamble, and eBay on the list of the most influential brands in the United States, according to Ipsos MarketQuest: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Ranks of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Visa, Coca-Cola, Samsung, YouTube, MasterCard, and Procter and Gamble on the list of the most influential brands in the world: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Source: Ipsos Marketing Open Thinking Exchange.

Percentage of Americans who admit to committing financial errors, according to a survey by financial services firm Edward Jones: 78

Ranks of "not saving enough for retirement" (26 percent), "inadequate tracking of spending" (20 percent) "taking on too much debt" (13 percent) on the list of the most common money mistakes cited by respondents: 1, 2, 3

Source: Edward Jones.

Percentage of singles who met their most recent first date online vs. 7 percent who met at a bar, according to findings from the third annual Singles in America study by Match.com: 20

Percentage of singles who reported that they have dated someone they met online: 27.5

Source: Match.com.

Percentage of travelers who said they had difficulty taking a vacation in the past 12 months, according to a Best Western Vacation Citation survey conducted with Wakefield Research: 62

Percentage of frequent business travelers who said work is more likely to ruin their vacation than bad weather: 52

Source: Wakefield Research.

Despite the perception that those who "work from home" sit around in their pajamas, never shower and are really not as productive as those who make it into an office each and every day, percentage of American workers who agree that working from home provides flexibility, according to the results of Harris Poll: 90

Percentage of American workers who are not self-employed who say they spend time during normal business hours working from home: 34

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of Americans who have filed taxes who do not generally handle preparation by themselves, according to a survey conducted for RetailMeNot: 82

Percentage of filers who typically use an online service, such as Turbo Tax, to prepare their taxes, up from 22 percent: 28

Average length of time it takes consumers for their taxes to be prepared: 4 hours

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

With a new marketplace of health insurance exchanges coming in January 2014 for the more than 30 million uninsured Americans, percentage of those Americans who are confident they will be able to select the best health plan for themselves and their family, according to a national survey released by Express Scripts: 53

Source: Express Scripts.

Idle Thought

"Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent." -- Bertrand Russell, Nobel prize in literature

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

Among adults ages 19 to 35 who did not complete high school, percentage who said "absence of parental support or encouragement" was a reason they dropped out, according to a survey on behalf of Everest College: 23

Percentage who said "becoming a parent": 21

Source: Everest College.

By 2016, estimated number of small- and medium-business (SMB) employees who will be mobile workers, according to a Techaisle report: 298 million

Percentage of SMB employees who will be working from home by 2016: 25

Source: Techaisle.

Average wedding budget in 2012 (excluding the honeymoon), according to TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com 2012 Real Weddings Survey: $28,427

Average spending for a wedding in Manhattan, the most expensive place to get married: $76,678

Average spending for a wedding in Alaska, the least expensive place to get married: $15,504

Source: The Knot.

Percentage of Americans who say saving time is very important, according to the results of a national survey from mytimeheroes.com: 78

Percentage of respondents who would rather spend an extra hour with their children or significant other than waste it on mundane activities: 90

To free up that extra hour, percentage of survey participants who reported they would like to have more help around the house: 70

Source: ServiceMaster.

Average amount of money per tooth left by the Tooth Fairy in 2012, an increase of 15 percent over the $2.60 left in 2011, according to a survey by Visa: $3

Percentage of children who receive less than a dollar, down from 7 percent last year: 3

Percentage of children who receive more than $5, compared to 3 percent last year: 8

Source: Visa USA.

Percentage chance of infection by unexpected malware for consumers who procure pirated software, according to a study commissioned by Microsoft Corp. and conducted by IDC: 33

As a result of these infections, estimated number of hours that consumers will spend identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of malware: 1.5 billion

Cost of this recovery: $22 billion

Source: Microsoft.

Percentage of Americans who believe that the U.S. faces a shortage of highly skilled workers, according to a survey conducted for TechNet by Zogby Analytics: 64

Percentage who say immigration policy should encourage highly skilled workers to stay in the country: 63

Source: TechNet.

Percentage of job seekers who proclaimed that their job search was "top priority," according to the online job-matching service survey: 68.1

Percentage of TheLadders' survey respondents who agreed that a resume should be no longer than two pages: 81.1

Percentage who "use privacy settings on personal accounts" and social networks to ensure employers find the best professional profile both online and in person: 51.4

Source: TheLadders.

Year that the Philadelphia Flower Show, now covering 33 acres and the largest such indoor event in the world, first opened its doors: 1829

In the U.S., percentage of households that take part in some form of gardening: 70

Estimated number of flower, nursery stock and supply wholesalers that sustain the country's flower shops and garden centers: 112,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of those Americans whose total annual household income is $75,000 or greater, percentage who indicated they have used, or will use, their tax refund this year to pay down their debt, according to the results of a ShopAtHome.com survey: 41

Of those with a total annual household income of less than $35,000, percentage who said they would save a portion of their refund: 28

Source: ShopAtHome.com.

Idle Thought

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." -- Norman Vincent Peale

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