That’s what privately held Hilcorp Energy gave each and every one of their employees for a Christmas bonus last year.

Every one of their 1,381 employees from the receptionist to top execs.

And it isn’t the first time billionaire owner Jeffrey Hildebrand paid bonuses.

In 2010 he set a goal to grow the company by double over 5 years. He offered employees their choice of a $50,000 car or $35,000 in cash.

In today’s world of venture capital greed, cash dollars as a reward are very unusual.

But believe it or not, most employees will settle for a lot less.

Over the decades research shows that the number one thing employees crave from their bosses is appreciation which last time I checked is free.

And that the ability to actually do their job unfettered by corporate politics even outranks money as a motivator.

No one is turning down money, but the fact is that most people will happily accept a lot of other things in lieu of it proving once again that all of us have the ability to deliver big bonus impacts at no real cost at all.

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