I like social media, especially in the workplace, but I will be the first to admit that it’s time consuming. I’ve found that the most I can do with social media is belong to Linkedin. I can’t do Facebook or Twitter. But if what you’re seeking if buzz, then you need to consider it.

Contrary to reports that homeowners are increasingly “walking away” from their mortgages, most homeowners continue to make their payments even when they are significantly underwater. This article suggests that most homeowners do not strategically default as a result of two emotional forces: 1) the desire to avoid the shame and guilt of foreclosure; and 2) exaggerated anxiety over foreclosure’s perceived consequences. Moreover, these emotional constraints are actively cultivated by the government and other social control agents in order to induce homeowners to ignore market and legal norms under which strategic default might not only be a viable option, but also the wisest financial decision.

It’s an interesting issue, really. You choose to play by one set of moral rules, and your lender (and the industry) use an entirely different set.

Read the abstract of an academic paper examining the issue here.

In management, the rule of three can also be a general guideline for when to address a management issue. If something happens once, it’s potentially an accident. If something happens twice, it’s a potential pattern. And if something happens a third time, it’s a recurrent issue, and time to have a chat. And it doesn’t just apply to managers and traditional workplaces. You can also use this rule as a consultant:

If someone makes a joke about my consulting rates — maybe they say something like, “well, with rates like those, it’s a good thing you add value (chuckle, chuckle).” I might laugh along with them but I notice my discomfort. The second time I smile but don’t laugh. The third time I say “This is the third time you’ve joked about my rates — I know it’s a joke but I also wonder if you feel like they exceed my value. If so, I’d like to talk about it with you.”

….we monitored IT workers and their productivity using similar badges. Once again, we found that group cohesion was a central predictor of productivity. In fact, workers whose group cohesion was in the top third showed an increase in work productivity of more than 10%. In addition, workers who had access to more people, that is, their network of company contacts was larger, also demonstrated increased productivity. In this case, workers whose network access was in the top third of the group showed an additional productivity increase of 4%

So although you may feel guilty about time spent around the water cooler, it’s important to being human to connect with one another (and leads to an increase in “productivity.”)

*Productivity will be shown in scare quotes as it’s notoriously difficult to measure.

The discussion about perfection and completion reminded me of a job that I had as an editor in which I was consistently sent back to the drawing board to rework whatever idea we developed. I never completed a project because of a boss who was a perfectionist. But this was almost the perfect antidote to life in traditional publishing in which project after project had to be completed on a rigorous schedule without regards to quality.

Of course, AT&T says it’s not true.