From my work I come into contact with all kinds of people.  I've been traveling a lot and have had the opportunity to talk to people who work at other compainies. And one of the types of people that I occasionally run into could be labeled as "frustrated talented guy".  They are often frustrated because they feel they should be promoted, make more money, given more authority, etc. based strictly on their inate talent.

But talent really isn't enough, not usually and certainly not in business.  There's no substitute for effort -- working hard.  And that's what ends up being the obstacle for frustrated talented guy.  Because they'll see people they know (or at least they think) are less talented than they are.  Why were they passed up? They usually assume that they lost out because of "company politics" or "seniority" or something else.  Because, after all, any clear thinking business person should reward the most talented individuals, right?

That's not how it really works. Because the one who produces the most is the one who is going to win out. And while frustrated tlaened guy may have the potential to outproduce his or her peers, he or she chooses not to. In fact, often times frustrated talented guy is flagrantly not pulling their weight. Barely doing the bear minimum.  And yet they still walk around with a sense of entitlement becuase of how smart they think they are how much more talented they are than others.

Effort. Effort is the key because usually frustrated talented guy is putting in so little effort (relatively) and "regular guy" is working so hard that the regular guy (who is usually a lot more talented than people realize but is a lot less flamboyant about it) is out-producing frustrated talented guy by 2X or 3X. And that's why regular guy often beats talented guy.