You see it all around you, and especially in sales departments. The employee who will sign the most contracts by a certain date, will win a 10 cruise, or something like that. And in some way, incentives are good. They motivate people. But what do they motivate exactly? Let's examine the incentive above.

The winner of this incentive was a sales person who promised his customers things he or the company can not deliver. He even persuaded some of his customers knowing they would not be able to pay the monthly subscription for a long time. Some of his customers didn't even need his product or services at all, but in some way, he convinced them they did. His goal was to hit the target, no matter what. But you already got the picture. 

And on the other hand, you have the honest 'adviser' who informs his customers, and only sells them what they need. He informs them in detail what they can expect from the service. He delays his sale untill the potential customer has the resources and the need to purchase the product or service. And he made the target by 90%. His goal is to create long lasting customers. 

First of all, which sales person do you want in your company? And are you valueing his efforts with incentives like that? What behaviour do you incentivize with your 10 day cruise? And is that the behaviour you want to encorage? Think about this the next time you plan to give your employees an incentive.