Ruthlessness: The Real Foundation of Your Career?

Some still believe that if you just work hard enough, the system will reward you. That merit, preparation, and persistence will eventually speak for themselves.

I used to believe that too.

Until I saw how things work in many corporate cultures.

It is not the sanitized version you hear in leadership seminars. I’m talking about the real world — of subtle power moves, strategic silences, and meetings where outcomes are decided before the meeting even starts. A world where performance reviews are less about performance and more about politics.

In this world, merit isn’t enough. Often, it’s irrelevant.

What matters is how well you navigate the invisible game. How good you are at appearing involved without being exposed, at building alliances without showing your hand, at dominating without ever raising your voice.

In this game, the winners are rarely the most competent. They’re the ones who master perception, who speak when it benefits them and vanish when it doesn’t. Who know precisely who to impress, when to act loyal, and how to position themselves in the room.

It’s actually not about being ruthless. It’s about knowing how to look harmless while playing the long game with cold precision.

And the result?

Talented, hard-working professionals often fall behind.

Not because they lack skill. But because they refuse to play a role.

Because they still believe that value should be enough.

But it isn’t.

And so, in these environments, empathy becomes a weakness. Creativity becomes a risk. Honesty becomes dangerous.

And the people who dare to be authentic? They leave. If not physically, they resign mentally. Or they’re quietly pushed out.

And until that changes, let’s stop pretending it’s all about merit. Let’s stop telling fairy tales.

Because the game is real. And the rules are written in silence.