That Gervais Principle series, and the Company Hierarchy chart that opens it, was one of the first things that came to mind when I read this article.
My takeaway from the Gervais Principle: the only way to win, if you're not a sociopath, is to be a loser.
I've made my peace with that fact.
Or, well, a little more positively: just try to avoid the whole corporate rat race all together. But it often has a way of finding you as this great HN comment, which was actually the first thing that came to mind, explains: