Purpose over perks.

Of the many powerful moments in The Great Hack – a documentary that's the subject of a recent Mind Mint – one stands out as particularly memorable. It’s a quick exchange between Brittany Kaiser, a former Cambridge Analytica executive, and an interviewer. The exchange happens immediately after they watch Cambridge’s CEO lie under oath in his public testimony:

Brittany: It’s not like he spent three and a half years being an asshole to me; he didn’t.
Interviewer: He spent three and a half years being nice to you, to get you to do what he wanted you to do.
Brittany: Yeah, but he is rather fun.

Ms. Kaiser and dozens of other bright, ambitious people, were attracted to a company run by a “nice,” “fun,” and no doubt brilliant leader. The company was doing fascinating work and achieving success; who wouldn’t want to work there?

The answer should be “anyone who cares about the impact of their work.” Those bright, ambitious, fun people were part of an illegal, immoral effort to sway elections here and abroad. Brittany's story is a powerful reminder that our professional choices can have consequences that go well beyond our paychecks.