Social outsiders valuable in workplace
You know that person that everyone in the office thinks is a little odd — just a smidge off-center? The Dwight Schrute of the workplace? (If you can’t identify this person, it may be you). Turns out, that guy or gal is helping you get work done, according to a recent study.
(A)ccording to new research co-authored by a Brigham Young University business professor, better decisions come from teams that include a “socially distinct newcomer.” That’s psychology-speak for someone who is different enough to bump other team members out of their comfort zones.
Researchers noticed this effect after conducting a traditional group problem-solving experiment. The twist was that a newcomer was added to each group about five minutes into their deliberations. And when the newcomer was a social outsider, teams were more likely to solve the problem successfully.
Perhaps those folks just make us want to get out of the room more quickly, cutting down on the cross-chatter and lame jokes that can bog down a meeting.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Commuting close calls
I’m a regular participant in the annual “Bike to Work Day” activities in these parts, which is coming up on May 1. For bikers, it can be a fun, but sometimes terrifying, adventure. Cyclists must rely on motorists’ knowledge of local traffic laws, which give bicycle riders the right to use public streets and require vehicles to stay at least three feet away from cyclists.
Every bicycle rider can share tales of terror regarding vehicles that have violated those requirements. But Cyclist Jeff Frings of Milwaukee, who also is a photographer, decided to document his close calls. A Milwaukee television station used Frings’ video to produce the following report. (via Jerk Ethic)
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Employee of the year
Operation
Italian brain surgeon Claudio Vitale is dedicated. During a recent operation, Vitale began to experience chest pains. But he knew if he stopped the procedure, the patient might die. So he soldiered on.
From the Medical News Today Web site:
But he felt he could not stop what he was doing because although he had removed the tumor by then, there was a bleed that needed urgent attention. So he asked a nurse to take a sample of his blood and test it. The test shows the enzymes were elevated and he was indeed having an “infarct” or attack.
His medical team became very concerned and urged him to stop and get emergency treatment, but Vitale refused, saying he had to stop the hemorrhage, and then they could take over.
Vitale stabilized the patient, then underwent his own procedure to clear a blocked artery. At last report, both patients were recovering.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
2001 AIG commercial
When you look up “irony” on the Internet, this is what should appear.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Keith Geary interview
I introduce Keith Geary as a smart guy in this interview, and I stand behind that. Geary, CEO of Capital West Securities in Oklahoma City, discusses some investing ideas, including his belief that stock prices may have bottomed out.
By the way, this was the second interview of Geary. The first, taped just before this one, was plagued by technical difficulties. (In fact, some of the problems continued — you might want to turn down the volume before starting this presentation) In addition to being intelligent, Geary is a good sport. He walked right back in the studio for take two.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Tasty chatter from Sonic Corp.
Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. stages some of the most interesting conference calls of any of the state-based companies we cover. Perhaps I find them interesting because I eat there from time to time. But they’re also intriguing because they discuss real meat and potatoes issues — literally. For instance, during Monday’s discussion with analysts, the company revealed a new product will be unveiled next month at the drive-in restaturants.
Sonic President Scott McClain:
Well, one of the things that we are doing in April is we are introducing a new product, a new premium chicken product, a chicken bacon club sandwich on whole wheat bread, which is a premium product, which will be featured very prominently on-lot, as well as on television, and many markets and on national cable as well.
Sonic’s value menu, which features several $1 items, has been successful, executives said. Many customers who visit the drive-ins during their afternoon “happy hour” to purchase half-price drinks have been adding the cheaper food items to their orders, Chief Executive Officer Clifford Hudson said.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Stephen Vaughan, responding to a question about whether advertising rates have fallen due to the economy, noted that the company has been able to place its TV ads in more attractive spots:
…we’re able to get more prime spots. In some cases, for example, we were able to get some local spots with the Super Bowl. And also I think with the Academy Awards, some spots came available with some of those more prime shows that previously we hadn’t been able to get access to. So I think in terms of the dollars may not be increasing, but we do believe they are going further in terms of their reach, but also the quality of the buys that we’re are getting.
Speaking of advertising, here’s a little something from the 2 Sonic guys.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Southwest Airlines safety rap
Most folks in these parts have flown Southwest Airlines, and are familiar with their employees’ unique way of dealing with customers. Generally, it’s nice to be treated like an actual human being even as you’re herded like cattle into a shiny metal tube.
Here’s a recent demonstration of that attitude from the airline’s Web site:
Houston Flight Attendant Sandra helped make a homecoming special for a returning veteran from Iraq and his wife. On the final leg home to Long Island of a journey that began six flights earlier in Iraq, Sandra asked the deplaning passengers to remain seated while the solider and his wife deplaned. As the couple made their way forward, Sandra gave a detailed account of his service to the nation. Once they deplaned the aircraft, the couple found our Long Island Employees ready to greet them with a bottle of champagne. To add to the welcome, everyone waiting in the gate area stood and applauded. Sandra was the catalyst for what his wife calls “our treasured memory.”
But David, recorded on this flight bound for Oklahoma City, takes customer service to a new level.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
FDIC collected no premiums from 1996 to 2006
The Boston Globe reports that the FDIC, which recently boosted banks’ fees to replenish its fund that insures our deposits, collected no premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006. Because bank failures had become rare, the FDIC with Congressional approval suspended the collection of insurance premiums paid by many banks.
But a recent spate of bank failures, especially large ones such as Washington Mutual and IndyMac, have seriously depleted the insurance fund. No Oklahoma banks have failed in recent years.
Roger Beverage, president of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, reacted with anger to the new FDIC assessment of 20 basis points (0.20 percent) of every dollar of deposits.
“To say the least, this is outrageous,” Beverage said. “Our member banks have played by the rules, done things appropriately, made a profit, served their communities, and stood by while the Wall Street gang has gotten away with murder. They’ve stood by patiently, in an effort to be supportive of their regulators and their government while their reputations have been trashed by the media and the general public has increasingly lost confidence in their profession. They’ve been painted with the ‘bad guy’ brush, and now they get to pay for the sins of the clowns that took the banking system in the United States to the edge of the abyss? I mean, this is crazy.”
“As long as we’re on a spending spree in Congress and ‘bailing’ everyone else out, how about bailing out the good guys, the Oklahoma banks and the banks around the country that did it right, were honorable, played by the rules and stuck to their mission of trying to help their customers and their communities? Why are these guys the ones that are being punished and being painted as the bad guys? This is just incredible. I don’t know what we’re going to do yet, but we have to do something.”
Here’s a “60 Minutes” report on the FDIC’s closing of a Chicago-area bank, which includes an interview with FDIC Chair Sheila Bair.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
How much is $1 trillion?
What does $1 trillion look like? If you stacked up $100 bills, it would look something like this (that little red mark at the front left of the image is a person):
Just for reference, here’s a historical photograph of someone posing with 1 million $1 bills.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Herculean effort for “effortless” commercial
Here’s an ad for Brylcreem (and let’s see a show of hands for everyone who knew they still made Brylcreem…) that was filmed with no special effects and no edits. Just one long take.
Now see how they did it. Patience. Repitition. Positive thinking. The ad ironically focuses on the word “effortless.”
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
