Groupon’s CEO made news this month when after getting fired he sent an email to the company saying “People of Groupon, After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why … you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.” It’s nice that Andrew’s taking accountability for his company’s poor performance but don’t fee too bad for him. He’s walking away with a $378 million severance package.
Pope Benedict XVI stepped down as the pope this month and his retirement package is the first one the Vatican has had to prepare in over 600 years. When compared to the retirement package of the average American senior, the pope got a pretty sweet deal. The pope will receive a monthly pension of 2,500 euros. This is close to the monthly maximum that Social Security would pay to an American who retires this year. Luckily the pope will have his living expenses covered including a spacious home inside the Vatican and everything from cooked meals to housekeepers will be paid. The pope is retiring due to deteriorating health, but the good news is the pope will continue to be a member of the Vatican’s generous private health care policy.
Here is a review of my book and giveaway contest that a blogger from My Retirement Blog
March Madness LinkedIn style – Everyone has their own system of filling out the brackets for the March Madness College Basketball tournament. Some of the systems I’ve seen have been to pick all of the favorites, pick the team who has the stronger mascot, or pick the team whose name comes first in the alphabet. LinkedIn came up with their own strategy based on LinkedIn data. They came up with a “dedication score” based on their LinkedIn Profiles. The formula: For each school in the tournament, LinkedIn calculated (# of current students and alumni with the word “basketball” in their profile) / (total # of current students and alumni)
The school with the higher “dedication score” wins their game and advances in the bracket. And the winner is: (Click on the image to enlarge) So far their strategy doesn’t seem to be working out
The Watercooler – March 2013
