To compete in the $15 billion bottled water industry, your brand has to find a way to stand out. That's why bottled water companies like Liquid OM Water and Spiritual Water, both mentioned in this New York Times article, are hoping to appeal to people's spiritual sides. Unlike high-end bottled water brand Bling H20, these new spiritual waters are trying to spread positive energy to consumers. "We're at war, the world is in a relative state of turmoil," said Arthur von Wiesenberger, a bottled-water industry consultant. "People are looking anywhere for guidance. Why not start with fundamentals, like water?"

So how do they go about packing "good vibes" into a bottle of water? Liquid OM's creator, Kenny Mazursky, uses Tibetan singing bowls and a giant earth gong to send vibrations through the water at specific frequencies. Spiritual Water focuses more on religion by incorporating prayers and religious illustrations on their bottles. As the economy declines and people oppose the environmental issues of bottled water, it will be interesting to see if spiritual waters can help the bottled water industry stay afloat.

Salary.com's annual Small Business Executive Compensation Survey found that CEO salaries vary amongst small, medium and large companies. The results, which were revealed yesterday, showed that the national median salary for a small-business CEO is $233,500. For a company with 500-to-5,000 employees, the average CEO salary is $500,000, while for companies with more than 5,000 employees, that number increases to $849,375. "As companies grow, so do the responsibilities and paychecks of their executives," said Christine Midwood, director of survey services for Salary.com. "To attract and retain the best talent, it's important for smaller companies with smaller budgets to emphasize non-cash advantages such as company equity or work/life balance."

If you’re looking to keep younger employees satisfied with their jobs, be sure to give them their due praise. A new study by training and research company Leadership IQ shows that only 30 percent of workers ages 21 to 30 would strongly recommend their workplace to others.

The study surveyed more than 11,000 employees ages 21 to 70 from 872 organizations. Questions were designed to gauge employee satisfaction with their boss, corporate culture and motivation at work. The study found that younger workers attribute their workplace satisfaction to how often their bosses acknowledged or commended them for their accomplishments.

“It’s become a cliché to bemoan younger workers’ need for praise and recognition,” says Leadership IQ Chairman and CEO Mark Murphy. "But what’s disturbing is that six out of 10 younger workers are being actively de-motivated because their boss won’t give them the one thing they really care about. And these results are especially disappointing because praise and recognition don’t really cost anything.”

On the other hand, 47 percent of employees ages 61 to 70 would strongly recommend their workplace. Older workers are more likely to be satisfied with their work if they can assess that they are working at an appropriate performance level and moving in the right direction.--Kevin Manahan