Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

If someone were to ask me what my ideal job would be upon moving on from graduate school, I would probably say something to the effect of,  "I'd like to be in a job that evokes a sense of respect from my friends, their friends, and most everyone that I meet. In addition to that, it needs to be a job that has path which leads to a cool title and a lot of money. I picture myself in a corner office with windows where you have an incredible view of whatever city I work in... "  Fast forward to today and let me describe my ideal job for you, "I'd like a job that gives me the flexibility to spend time with the ones I care about, provides me with enough money to live within my expected standards, AND allows me to work with people that I like that value my contribution." PERIOD.  What they don't tell you in business school is that the first description of an ideal job is far from ideal.  Sure,  everyone ogles over your title on LinkedIn and on your bus...

Does the work that you do align to your personal values?  Does the work that your company purports to do align with it's "stated" organizational values?  When we interview or apply to jobs, we look at the job description, see if our resume matches it, and then if the compensation seems right - we go for it.  But how many of us have asked a company leader or interviewer what the organization's values are?  The reason that we don't ask is because it's a touchy-feely type of question.  You are bound to be seen as one sandwich short of a picnic if you start asking a lot of business book, "that's academic BS", "quit watching TED Talks," questions.  Here's the thing. A well-run company not only has documented values, it's culture exemplifies each and every one of those values.  In her book Daring Greatly , Brene Brown says that there are "aspirational values" that describe the elusive list of values that resi...