reply to In our annual performance review discussion, I had a discussion with him about how I could best reward him for his high level of performance. What he wanted was public recognition of his performance in front of my peer managers so that they would have more insight into who he was, the types of projects he was capable of executing, and the degree to which he performed in an exemplary fashion. So I explained that I would prepare an award, get it approved, get a plaque made, and then he and I could agree on the perfect venue in which I would present it to him. My point is that everyone is motivated by different things. A successful manager figures out what motivates his or her highest performers and then creates incentives and award structures that are customized for those individuals so that they will be retained and so that they will keep performing and contributing to the success of the organization