You can get to VP without competence. Staying there requires it. You don't necessarily have to be the most competent person possible but there is a floor.

So from what I've seen and learned, there's definitely a difference between being truly smart/visionary/creative etc vs just being "not dumb". And while I suppose the latter could also be deemed a kind of competence, I think what the others are driving at boils down to this - people with connections or just a knack for politics and schmoozing can get pretty far ahead and many underlings often mistake their rise for some sort of amazing technical or creative ability.

> You don't necessarily have to be the most competent person possible but there is a floor.

Heh, well that's not really saying much.

Floor = minor negative impact to the business due to your (in)competence.

If you open a company right now, what would be your criteria for promotion?