It has always bugged me when someone thinks a person is smart because of where they live (Silicon Valley, Boston, North Carolina), where they went to school (MIT, Harvard, Stanford), or where they work (Apple, Microsoft, Google). It is even worse when people believe that of themselves. I first noticed this after high school. Some kids thought they had it made as soon as they got into a good school. Then after college, I saw the same thing in the jobs that people got after college and graduate school. It was almost as though their lives had been leading up to college or getting their first job, and after that, they felt they could relax. I was surprised at how motivated some people were to get good grades to get into a top school or get a job at a prestigious company, and how little motivation they showed once they got there. I guess there is something different about motivation in the workplace; there is a different measuring system that is much less clear-cut than an academic grade point average. Thriving in the workplace requires a different set of skills and motivations.

The quality of your school and the reputation of your company matter, because at the best schools and companies there are extraordinary opportunities to learn. Grades, diplomas and titles mean something. But what matter most are your curiosity, your ambition, knowing how to think, and always looking for ways to improve.