One of the reasons I left my job at Credit Suisse was that I no longer felt I was being paid based on merit. After the global financial crisis, the firm—like many others—faced tough times, and overall compensation steadily declined for years.

As a top-three ranked producer, I expected to be compensated accordingly. But I often wasn’t, due to the structural decline of the institutional equities business. Management always had an excuse—whether it was subsidizing the struggling fixed-income department or funding aggressive expansion in India with guaranteed pay packages for new hires.

At first, I did what any rational employee would do: I argued my case. That worked, especially after a senior colleague left, giving me more leverage. Years later, a competitor offered me a lucrative raise, and while I didn’t want to move back to New York City, I used the offer to negotiate a matching pay bump from my firm.

Then, the following year, despite strong performance, the firm goose-egged me—offering no bonus at all. The excuse didn’t matter; I knew the real reason. They wanted to “normalize” my pay after giving me a raise the year before.

Rather than complain, I negotiated a severance package and walked away. I knew that if I stayed, I would never truly be paid based on merit again. The writing was on the wall. 11 years later, in March 2023, Credit Suisse group went under.

Why Getting Paid Based on Merit Is Harder Than It Sounds

During Trump’s inauguration speech, he spoke about returning to a merit-based system. The idea sounds great—being rewarded based on hard work, knowledge, and skills. What standup person wouldn’t want that? But in reality, meritocracy is rarely that simple because human nature is full of biases. And no matter how much bias training class you have, you cannot fully be neutral.

Most of us work within organizations, and if you examine any leadership team, you’ll often find an overrepresentation of certain demographics compared to the general population. Why? Because people tend to favor others who share their backgrounds, experiences, or worldviews. And as a result, there grew an effort to create DEI policies, to provide more opportunities to those who historically never had a chance. Now these policies are being dismantled everywhere.

A classic example of bias can be seen in the intern selections for past presidents. If you look at the White House intern photos for Obama and Trump, you’ll notice clear demographic preferences. The interns are all likely bright and capable, but with limited spots available, some candidates will always be favored over others.

If the next U.S. president happens to have Taiwanese ancestry, you can bet there will be an overrepresentation of Taiwanese American and East Asian interns. That’s just the way things go. The sooner we accept that bias plays a role in every decision—whether in hiring, promotions, or pay—the better we can navigate the realities of the workplace.

Simple Steps to Getting Paid More on Merit

All most of us want is a clear correlation between performance and reward. Earning what we truly deserve is one of the most satisfying feelings. Conversely, being rewarded for reasons other than our efforts and abilities can leave us feeling like impostors who haven’t earned our success.

Do you really want to be rewarded based on your looks instead of your talent, your ethnicity instead of your performance, or your connections instead of your creativity? I don’t, but I also understand not everybody thinks this way.

If you want to get paid more on merit, here are four steps to take.

Step 1: Accept That Merit Alone Won’t Determine Your Pay

The first step is understanding that you will never be fully rewarded based purely on merit. Instead, your goal should be to increase the correlation between performance and compensation.

Shoot for merit being 80% or higher the reason why you are being rewarded. The sooner you accept that life isn’t completely fair, the better off you’ll be mentally.

Step 2: Assess Your True Value

Be brutally honest about your abilities. Are you truly making a difference, or are you benefiting from a strong product, brand, or team? Make sure you’re not falling into the Dunning-Kruger trap—the false belief that you’re better than you actually are. Self-awareness is key.

Step 3: Leave If You’re Undervalued

If you believe your employer is underpaying you despite strong performance, stop complaining and take action. Either negotiate for better compensation or move on.

Staying in a job where you are undervalued will only lead to resentment and wasted potential. If you don’t make a change, you deserve what you get.

Step 4: Work Where Merit Matters More

Join a smaller company, startup, or organization where your contributions have a greater impact. The smaller the team, the harder it is to hide. If you’re truly confident in your abilities, consider starting your own business or becoming a solopreneur. In smaller environments, performance is more directly tied to reward.

Why We Admire Athletes and Entrepreneurs: The Illusion of Pure Merit

Athletes are revered for their strength, skill, speed, and agility. We see the countless hours they put into their craft and witness their performance in real time. If they win, they become legends. If they lose, they fade into obscurity.

However, even in sports, raw talent plays a significant role. Being born coordinated with a 6’9” frame isn’t merit—it’s winning the genetic lottery. Of course, if that height isn’t put to good use, some might argue it’s more of a burden than a blessing (good luck fitting into an economy-class seat).

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are often admired—or at least less vilified than rich corporate CEOs—because they take an idea, go all in, and risk everything to build something from scratch. They work relentless hours for years before seeing meaningful results.

Yet even among successful entrepreneurs, privilege plays a role. Some are born into wealthy families, which gives them the financial cushion to take big risks. Others had powerful and well-connected parents who helped them access elite universities, influential networks, and startup capital. Bill Gates comes to mind.

In the end, merit is rarely the whole story—but without hard work, even the most privileged won’t get far. Here’s my conversation with my friend, Shaun Livingston, 4X NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors about the importance of making the most of what you got. “You don’t want to have to coach effort.”

Drill Down Deeper To Face Your Impostor Syndrome

As a professional athlete, you may still experience impostor syndrome, unsure of how much of your team’s success was truly due to you. With a teammate like Michael Jordan, for example, it’s hard to feel great about winning six championships without even stepping onto the court.

To feel the glory of a high correlation between performance and reward, you may want to shy away from team sports. Instead, focus on individual sports with minimal external bias, such as: tennis, golf, track & field, swimming, wrestling, boxing, MMA, weightlifting, cycling or some Esports.

While these sports emphasize merit, external factors like financial backing, coaching, and access to elite training can still provide an edge. However, once the competition starts, it’s all on the individual.

Nowhere To Hide As a Solopreneur

If you truly want to get paid based on merit, leave behind the safety net of an established firm and build something of your own. The Googles, Metas, Apples, Goldmans, McKinseys, and Sullivan & Cromwells of the world will go on just fine without you.

Becoming a solopreneur is the ultimate test of merit. Unlike in a corporation, where promotions and raises are often dictated by office politics, favoritism, or shifting budgets, solopreneurship ensures you earn exactly what you’re worth. Your income is directly tied to the value you create, with no gatekeepers deciding your fate. The harder and smarter you work, the greater your rewards most of the time.

As a solopreneur, there’s no room for impostor syndrome—your results speak for themselves. Every client you land, every product you sell, and every service you deliver is proof of your capabilities. You’re no longer at the mercy of performance reviews or corporate restructuring. Instead, you are more in control your own destiny.

More importantly, solopreneurship provides financial and psychological freedom. You reap the rewards of your innovation and effort, without worrying about layoffs or office politics. The independence is both exhilarating and humbling—because when success or failure rests entirely on you, there’s nowhere to hide.

But then again, who can truly afford to become a solopreneur except those with resources or nothing to lose? Walking away from a stable paycheck, healthcare, and retirement benefits is a privilege not everyone can afford. In the end, even solopreneurship may not be as purely meritocratic as it seems.

Public Market Investing Is Great for Meritocracy

If you’re looking for another way to be rewarded more on merit, becoming an investor is one of the best paths. Thanks to commission-free trading and easy access to financial markets, practically anyone with a little capital can participate.

The beauty of investing is that the market doesn’t care about your background, where you went to school, or who you know. It is one of the few true meritocracies left. If you can analyze businesses well, identify long-term trends, and manage risk effectively, you’ll most likely be rewarded. If you make poor investment decisions, you’ll lose money. The results are immediate and undeniable, regardless of who you are or what you look like.

Unlike in a corporate job, where pay raises are capped by HR policies and office politics, your financial success as an investor is limited only by your ability to make smart decisions.

However, simply performing in line with the S&P 500 or any respective indices you follow is not worthy of praise. To be an outstanding investor, you need to consistently outperform the market over time. Your background—whether you’re an elite university grad, a pretty person, or have a large number of TikTok followers—has no bearing on how well you outperform.

But even great investing is influenced by circumstance. If you happened to come into some money in 2010 and invested it all, you’ve likely seen nothing but upside since then. If you come from a wealthy family, you can take more risk more frequently to potentially hit that home-run investment. As the saying goes, “don’t confuse brains with a bull market.”

Depends on What Playing Field You Are Competing In

The final reason why getting rewarded solely based on merit can be difficult lies in the different playing fields people are competing on.

For example, according to the World Health Organization, roughly 16% of the world’s population (1 in 6, or 1.3 billion people), live with some sort of disability. However, it is the majority, the roughly 84% of the world’s population who live without a disability that sets the standards for everything. And that is a problem.

If most people can see 20/20 after wearing corrective lenses, establishing a 12-point font size might seem perfectly reasonable. But what about those with visual impairments, those who can only achieve a visual acuity of 20/100 or higher, even with corrective lenses? Should they be left at a disadvantage, or should larger print be offered to level the playing field and give them the same opportunity to read?

What about those born into poverty or broken families? Instead of coming home to a supportive environment and focusing on their homework after dinner, they might have to take on a parental role for their younger sibling while their single mom works the night shift. How can they realistically compete with a kid who gets to prioritize academics, supported by a stay-at-home parent and another who’s always home for dinner?

The Bank Of Mom & Dad is more prevalent for adult children than you think! Merit alone isn’t likely buying a 26-years old a $1.5 million condo in New York City.

It’s clear that helping those with different abilities and difficult financial circumstance should be a priority, as we cannot control how we’re born or the challenges we face. All anybody ever wants is the ability to compete as fairly as possible.

Lack Of Awareness Drives Conflict

If we are part of the majority and unaware of the many differences others face, we may unknowingly act in ways that are discriminatory or offensive. After all, who determines that one person’s way of doing things should be the standard for everyone?

This is where ableism comes into play—discrimination and prejudice against individuals with disabilities. Ableism can manifest in various ways, including inaccessible environments, lack of accommodations, and exclusion. It’s rooted in the assumption that people without disabilities are superior, and those with disabilities are less capable.

A truly merit-based society recognizes these disparities and strives to create equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of ability.

I don’t believe most people are intentionally discriminatory; rather, it’s often a matter of being unaware of the many differences we all have. The more we can get to know people from different backgrounds the better.

Getting Rewarded Purely Based On Merit Is Unlikely

If you’ve been an ardent believer that getting rewarded purely based on merit is the ultimate path to success, I hope this article has given you some food for thought—it’s not that simple. There are both known and unknown forces at play that influence how “successful” someone can be.

Not only should we be aware of our own advantages and disadvantages, but we must also recognize how luck plays a significant role in getting ahead. Some of us are fortunate enough to be born in places like America, where we aren’t facing bombs and turmoil. Others might be born with genetic advantages that make certain tasks easier than average.

If you believe your success is solely due to merit, then you’re overlooking the many factors that contribute to success in life. Not everyone has had the same opportunities as you. And if you’re fortunate enough to get ahead, consider using your good fortune to help others find their path forward as well.

The only things we can truly control are our attitude and our work ethic. If we give our best in both, everything will usually turn out just fine. If someone can get rewarded 80% based on merit, that should be a worthwhile goal.

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From Allen Iverson to Russell Westbrook, the NBA has long been at the intersection of basketball and fashion. Players like Kyle Kuzma and James Harden have made headlines with their extravagant “tunnel fits,” using their pre-game walks to make bold statements and showcase their unique style.

Given the influence of these athletes, it’s no surprise that fashion brands are eager to partner with NBA stars. However, for these collaborations to last, it takes more than just money and swag — they must reflect a genuine alignment of values between the athlete and the brand.

That’s exactly what NBA champion Jrue Holiday has found with his recent partnership with Rhone. Founded in 2014, Rhone is a performance-driven apparel and wellness brand with 16 U.S. retail stores. Rhone’s mission goes beyond selling high-performance clothing; it’s about inspiring progress through mental fitness, community initiatives, and wellness.

In December, the brand introduced its Licensed NBA Commuter Shirts, showcasing designs for all 30 NBA teams. For Holiday, this partnership is not just about fashion — it’s about working with a brand that champions the values he lives by on and off the court.

“Through my own experiences, I’ve realized that you can’t be your best physically without prioritizing mental well-being,” Holiday says. “I’m excited to partner with Rhone to share my journey, raise awareness about Mental Fitness, and contribute to their mission of positively impacting over 100 million lives.”

Related: How This Boutique Sports Agency Is Beating Billion-Dollar Giants at Their Own Game

Holiday’s commitment to mental fitness is deeply personal. He isn’t just talking about his on-court injuries; his wife, Olympic Gold Medalist Lauren Holiday, faced a public battle with brain cancer during her pregnancy in 2016, an experience that profoundly impacted the entire family.

Thankfully, Lauren overcame the illness, and now, the Holidays are using their platform and resources to give back. A key aspect of their partnership with Rhone is a donation to the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund (JLH Fund), which focuses on empowering underserved communities across the U.S. by supporting entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth.

Rhone’s mission is to positively impact over 100 million lives, and this donation will significantly help them achieve that goal.

“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Jrue to Rhone,” says Rhone CEO Nate Checketts. “Jrue’s unwavering commitment to community and well-being aligns perfectly with Rhone’s mission. This partnership represents an exciting opportunity to deepen our connection with the NBA community and contribute to meaningful change through the JLH Fund.”

In addition to the donation, the partnership will feature an activation at NBA Crossover from February 14-16 at the Moscone Center, strategically timed to coincide with NBA All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area.

While many clothing brands would jump at the chance to work with Holiday, the two-time All-Star chose Rhone for a reason.

“Authenticity is key for me,” Holiday explains. “I chose to partner with Rhone because their focus on community and well-being aligns perfectly with my personal values. Being part of the Rhone community has been an exciting opportunity, and I’m looking forward to the meaningful impact we’ll create together.”

Related: How to Embrace Authenticity in a World Craving Transparency

What if the most pressing danger of AI is not its ability to replace jobs, as more than one in five U.S. workers fear, but its potential to cause cognitive decline?

Researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University published a new study last month that claims to be the first to examine the effects of AI tools on critical thinking.

The researchers found that the more confident human beings were in AI’s abilities to get a task done, the fewer critical-thinking skills they used. Humans confident in AI left critical thinking to ChatGPT instead of doing it themselves and strengthening their cognitive abilities.

Related: Would You Pay $200 for ChatGPT? OpenAI’s New Reasoning Model Has a Hefty Price Tag.

“Used improperly, technologies can and do result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved,” the researchers wrote, adding that “a key irony of automation is that by mechanizing routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgment and strengthen their cognitive musculature, leaving them atrophied and unprepared when the exceptions do arise.”

The researchers surveyed 319 knowledge workers, or workers who handle data or information, to find how confident they were in AI’s capabilities and how much critical thinking they employed when using AI to complete tasks. Critical thinking was defined as falling under one of six categories: knowledge (remembering ideas), comprehension (understanding ideas), application (putting ideas to work in the real world), analysis (contrasting and relating ideas), synthesis (combining ideas), and evaluation (judging ideas).

The surveyed knowledge workers used AI like ChatGPT at least once a week and gave 936 examples of how they used AI at work, ranging from looking up facts to summarizing a text. They mainly used critical thinking to set clear prompts, refine prompts, and verify AI responses against external sources.

Six out of the seven researchers listed are associated with Microsoft Research, the research subsidiary of Microsoft created in 1991. Microsoft has deep interests in AI, with its investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI totaling close to $14 billion and its plans to spend $80 billion on AI data centers in the fiscal year ending in June.

The researchers caution that while AI can make workplaces more efficient, it could “also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI, raising concerns about long-term reliance and diminished independent problem-solving.”

In other words, AI has a hidden cost: It could lead workers to lose muscle memory for more routine tasks.

Related: DeepSeek AI Cost Less Than $6 Million to Develop. Here’s Why Meta and Microsoft Are Justifying Spending Billions.