Hard Work Isn’t the Reason for Your Success

Some companies say they're meritocracies. But is a level playing field really possible?

Photographer: moodboard/Cultura RF via Getty Images

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Most people agree that it isn't fair when people get ahead because of whom they know or the fancy schools they went to. The utopian solution is meritocracy, a fair and unbiased system in which the quality of your work is all that matters, and good ideas rise to the top, no matter whom they come from.