When Roger Hodgson crooned to his anonymous paramour back in 1977, “Give a little bit of your love to me,” so he might “give a little bit of my life for you,” the Supertramp frontman presumably didn’t have academic research in mind. But Hodgson’s next beseeching couplet—“There’s so much that we need to share/So send […]

It’s likely that your company logo is sitting in the bottom of some landfill. Likely, that is, if you’re among the majority of business leaders who try to woo clients, prospects, and employees with self-promotional gifts. You know the kind I’m talking about: food baskets, towels, T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and poorly made laptop bags. […]

Exchange and gift-giving have been a part of everyday human behavior since the dawn of mankind. So, it should be no surprise that these activities are also part of holiday celebrations—such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Eid Al-Adha. Many of us remember the excitement of wondering what presents Santa Claus—or, as we discovered later, our parents […]

Pettiness is a word that is on the way out. Google Books shows its usage down sharply since the middle of the 1960s, and many people have a hard time getting a handle on it today. That’s a shame because it’s an important term. It may be impossible to understand much of our recent public […]

We’ve all heard it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Probably like you, I take that on faith. But it’s fun to see how research agrees that special benefits come from giving, not just receiving. Giving has been an important part of Christmas ever since the Three Wise Men presented their gifts of gold, […]

If I had a dollar for every time people asked my wife, Gail, how she lives with an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t have to be one. Scratch that. I would probably figure out how to get more people to ask the question. (Sorry, I can’t help myself!) Being an entrepreneur is part of who I am. […]