Many versus one

A colleague of mine sent me this article.

I think its a great reminder that big things don't always motivate your staff.

I worked for a company once that gave away a car to its top performing manager. We all worked really hard to win the car, but in the end 99.9% of us got nothing for our hard work.
One person got a car (who coincidentally left the company less than a year later) and the rest of us got a congratulatory email.

Who is to say that the outcome would have been different if they spent that $20k on iPods. But what I can tell you is that I would at least have had something to walk away with in the end.

Whats my point?
I want you to be the person to stand up in the next meeting and advocate a smaller reward. One that can be shared company wide. Give everyone that sense of accomplishment and not just one person.