Employee Appreciation Day was first celebrated in 1995. 21 years later, we are just starting to understand that recognition and appreciation are growing in importance as drivers of employee happiness and engagement. Confidence is born within, but when someone recognizes that you did a good job or says thank you, it can make all the difference in the world. Our appreciation comes in form of our favorite links of the week: We learn why employees don't innovate, forecast the meteoric rise in mobile payments, look at the future of the Internet of Things by looking back at the evolution of smartphones, learn that following others is often the wrong choice and provide a reminder why you should embrace the art of life. - A global survey explains why your employees don't innovate. A lot of talking by the executives, not a lot of walking. Followed by cynicism and disillusion of front-line employees. - Mobile Payments in the US to reach $142 billion by 2019. "In-store payments, digital wallets, contactless payments, seamless authentication and revived security solutions are the major drivers for the rise of mobile payments in the payment industry." - Mobile, smartphones and hindsight. Good lessons for the financial industry: "It's always fun to laugh at the people who said the future would never happen. But it's more useful to look at the people who got it almost right, but not quite enough." - Smartness from one of the most prolific marketing writers. We follow the crowd, because that's our instinct. But a crowd is just other people. And people can be wrong. - Why we should never turn away from the art of life. "Books do not take time; they give time, they expand our resources of both heart and mind." Bonus: We just announced our two co-hosts for THINK 16 and there is still time to join us. Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever you play.