Time for some simple Friday stats:

According to the US Census Bureau the projected percentage of the population represented by each age group, from the 2000 census projected out to the year 2050.

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The 50 best small & medium-sized companies to work for were selected and ranked by the Great Place to Work Institute Inc., a global workplace research and consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco. The institute also selects Fortune magazine€™s annual list of the €œ100 Best Companies to Work For,€ recognizing companies with more than 1,000 employees, as well as similar lists in 29 countries.

Here are the top 25 small companies with 50 to 250 U.S.-based full- and part-time employees:

1. Badger Mining Corp., Berlin, Wis., Mining & Quarrying
2. InsureMe, Englewood, Colo., Financial Services & Insurance
3. Analytical Graphics Inc., Exton, Pa., Information Technology
4. Heinfeld, Meech & Co. PC, Tucson, Ariz., Financial Services & Insurance
5. Professional Placement Resources LLC, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Professional Services
6. Triage Consulting Group, San Francisco, Professional Services
7. Root Learning Inc., Maumee, Ohio, Professional Services
8. Insomniac Games Inc., Burbank, Calif. , Media
9. Dixon Schwabl Advertising, Victor, N.Y., Advertising & Marketing
10. McMurry Inc., Phoenix, Advertising & Marketing
11. MATRIX Resources Inc., Atlanta, Professional Services
12. Clark Nuber, Bellevue, Wash., Professional Services
13. McWhinney Real Estate Services, Loveland, Colo., Construction & Real Estate
14. Integrity Applications Inc., Chantilly, Va., Professional Services
15. Northeast Delta Dental, Concord, N.H., Financial Services & Insurance
16. Runzheimer International, Rochester, Wis., Professional Services
17. archer>malmo, Memphis, Tenn., Advertising & Marketing
18. Bridge Worldwide, Cincinnati, Advertising & Marketing
19. Bowen Engineering Corp., Fishers, Ind. , Construction & Real Estate
20. Kahler Slater, Milwaukee, Architecture/Design
21. Urban Innovations Ltd., Chicago, Construction & Real Estate
22. ENGEO Inc., San Ramon, Calif., Professional Services
23. Schleuniger Inc., Manchester, N.H., Manufacturing & Production
24. Landrum Human Resource Cos. Inc., Pensacola, Fla., Professional Services
25. Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico LLP, North Andover, Mass., Professional Services

Here are the top 25 medium companies with 251 to 999 employees:

1. Holder Construction Co., Atlanta, Construction & Real Estate
2. The Beryl Cos., Bedford, Texas, Health Care–Services
3. Ultimate Software, Weston, Fla., Information Technology
4. Stark Investments, St. Francis, Wis., Financial Services & Insurance
5. ACUITY, Sheboygan, Wis., Financial Services & Insurance
6. Nevada Federal Credit Union, Las Vegas, Financial Services & Insurance
7. EILEEN FISHER INC., Irvington, N.Y., Design & Manufacturing
8. The Integer Group Denver, Lakewood, Colo., Advertising & Marketing
9. Sage Products Inc., Cary, Ill., Manufacturing & Production
10. Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif., Financial Services & Insurance
11. Lincoln Industries, Lincoln, Neb., Manufacturing & Production
12. Hypertherm, Hanover, N.H., Manufacturing & Production
13. The RightThing Inc., Findlay, Ohio, Professional Services
14. AMX, Richardson, Texas, Electronics
15. Park Industries, St. Cloud, Minn., Manufacturing & Production
16. Massachusetts Medical Society, Waltham, Mass., Media
17. CXtec, Syracuse, N.Y., Information Technology
18. Advanced Financial Services Inc., Newport, R.I., Financial Services & Insurance
19. Hoar Construction LLC, Birmingham, Ala., Construction & Real Estate
20. Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, East Lansing, Mich., Financial Services & Insurance
21. InPro Corp., Muskego, Wis., Manufacturing & Production
22. Digital Federal Credit Union, Marlborough, Mass., Financial Services & Insurance
23. SuccessFactors Inc., San Mateo, Calif., Information Technology
24. SJE-Rhombus Controls, Detroit Lakes, Minn., Manufacturing & Production
25. Hand Held Products, Skaneateles Falls, N.Y., Manufacturing & Production

If you are wondering how to your company can apply for the 2008 list, follow this link – Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America.

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Yahoo.com offers up a unique article titled Five Myths of Managing Up that purports to help employees communicate more clearly with their boss.  I don’t know – many of the suggestions seem like sucking up to me.

For instance:

Conventional wisdom: If you’re even five minutes late, the boss will think you’re a slacker.

Why it’s a myth: In an age of flex time, telecommuting, Blackberries, and instant messages, bosses care more about whether you’re getting the job done than whether you’re warming your seat.

Try this instead: Make sure the boss knows you’re putting in extra hours at home or on the road, both by maintaining a rapid-response email or instant message presence, and by hinting at when you’re putting in those extra hours.

Example: “I had to work over the weekend on this report, but I think you’ll agree the extra effort was worth it.”

The example statement is, well, pathetic.  If I was this person’s boss, I would laugh at that self-promoting comment.  My perspective is probably skewed by years in sales, but these mental gymnastics involving excuses, shameless self-promotion and explanations of effort are pointless.

Be on time – how hard is it?  If your boss is waiting, you can expect to hear about it.

The other issue is the commentary about effort.  Obviously effort is important in being a strong employee (how about some effort to be on-time?).  But salespeople are not paid based on effort, they are paid based on success – i.e. closing deals.  We’ve seen plenty of salespeople who work hard and close little.  At the end of the day, those employees can feel good about their effort but it is doubtful that they will keep their job without bringing in business.

Sucking up won’t save them.

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