Huge success in business is largely based on luck: new research
(Using a throwaway for soon to be obvious reasons).<p>After being involved in several early stage startup companies and the usual cast of characters (individual founders, angels, boards of all sorts, investors, etc) my deeply held personal belief is that after intelligence and hard work moral/ethical flexibility is the largest single factor in individual success in business.<p>In virtually every scenario I've been involved in the individuals that made out 10x or greater (compared to others) did so because they were willing to do things the others were not.<p>I suppose one could frame it as "luck" but my experience has been "making your own luck" is frequently only moderated by your own ability or willingness to lie, cheat, manipulate, and generally be as soullessly ruthless and self-serving as possible.<p>Consider two people. Both graduate from a top-tier law school and join a firm as junior partners. One graduate sees nothing but tax avoision, various shady legal maneuverings, high net worth senior partner infighting and politics, etc. The other sees nothing but money, power, and opportunity.<p>One of the junior partners is disgusted by this and leaves the firm to go back to their hometown and start a family law practice. They settle into a decent upper-middle class lifestyle.<p>The other junior partner stays on, climbs the ladder, and goes on to join the top X percent of the population in income and net worth.<p>Both are intelligent. Both worked hard. Both are "successful". However one junior partner saw people at (arguably) their worst and was disgusted by it. The other couldn't wait to really get in the game and play...<p>Hypothetical simple example but virtually identical to what I've seen play out continually in business.