The “No True Meritocracy” Principle
Wisdom to Take Away
- Many Americans believe that our country is a true meritocracy-that the best and brightest always rise to rise to the top and earn their just reward. This view fails to take into consideration the effects of racism, sexism, and classism. These “isms” act as brakes, slowing down the recognition and rewards that should be realized by talented minority and female entrepreneurs.
- If you are a person of color or a woman, you no doubt understand and appreciate that America is not yet a true meritocracy. We have no true system whereby true meritocracy. We have no true system whereby the talented are chosen and moved ahead solely based on achievement. Leaders are not always elected or appointed based on abstract intellectual criteria. The meritocracy principle dictates intellectual criteria. The meritocracy principle dictates that minority and female entrepreneurs must work twice as hard and become twice as intellectually agile as their counterparts in order to realize the fruits of their labor.
- By working to be twice as good, entrepreneurs will accelerate the time frame required for them to receive their just reward and position themselves for even more exciting entrepreneurial opportunities.
Wallace, R. (2000), Soul Food 52 Principles for Black Entrepreneurial Success, New York: Perseus Publishing
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