I love the naeivity of this. It's cute.
Lol I thought exactly the same thing. In the office/corporate environment hard work and being honest means you get stuck in the same role as you are "too valuable" to lose. This results in people moving up the ladder by leaving companies and jumping to others in a higher position.
It's all about who you know these days.
Hard work and honesty will get you far if you are self employed.