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“Holiday Gift Ideas” is one of the most searched phrases on the Internet this time of year. Apathy has surrendered to seasonal guilt as people are scrambling to find that perfect present before they are forced to check the box for overnight shipping. Recognition Source is here to help dig through the cliche ideas and reveal the gifts that will truly impress a loved one.

The word philanthropy originated in ancient Greece from the playwright Aeschylus in his drama Prometheus Bound. The play revolves around the idea of meager, primitive creatures that were created to be human but since lacked basic knowledge, skills, and any culture. Prometheus was a man that provided the creatures with the gifts of fire and optimism in order to create enlightened beings, improve the human condition and aid in their progress toward a civilized society.

As the holiday season quickly approaches employee morale can significantly wane. Combine daylight–saving time, dreary weather and long-hours leaves commuters to endure grey skies in the morning and darkness when they return home. Combine this with company stressors like deadlines, increased responsibility due to staff reductions, and impending salary reviews and you could have a significant portion of your employees suffering from the winter-holiday blues. The good news is, this is the perfect time of year to perk up your employees. We will feature some bright ideas after a few disturbing statistics about employee appreciation.

From 1981 to 2001 Jack Welch was the Chairman and CEO of General Electric.During those twenty years, GE’s company value soared by 4000%. Welch started at the bottom in 1960 and plotted his way through the ranks, eventually leading him to a vice president position in 1972. Nine years later he became GE’s youngest CEO and began to stir up GE. Welch began to dismantle much of the management put together by previous CEOs and led an aggressive simplification and consolidation initiative. In fact, during the early 80s he was nicknamed “Neutron Jack” due to his tactic of eliminating employees and leaving the building intact. He was renowned for his annual firing the bottom 10% of his managers and awarding the top 20% with bonuses and stock options. While his hard-nosed managerial style has been criticized throughout the years, Welch’s and GE’s overwhelming success consistently muffled the middle-class outcries to mere whimpers.

What’s his secret to managing employees OTHER than firing the weak and rewarding the strong? Well, Welch recently spoke about this at New York’s World Business Forum this past June. The main takeaway was this: “This whole game of business revolves around one thing. You build the best team, you win.”

Ever sit for hours wondering what’s so great about paperweights? You’re not alone.

In order to conquer this seldom broached and seemingly under-served topic we’re going to review the history, some types of paperweights, and some famous collections and collectors. Read this and walk away with not only some amazing “did you know” statistics to impress your friends, but also with newly rekindled passion for objects that keep papers in place in breezy work environments.