The idea that the two terms are somehow mutually exclusive has become the real problem. America used to reward hard work, now we tend to reward "yes men" and people who don't rock the boat in any way, shape, or form--as if that were some sort of productive end in and of itself.

I have always tried to work both HARD and SMART, but this is often (and we can go back at least three decades on this) in the American manufacturing sector (what little is left of it) not really all that appreciated. We reward "smart work" by subjective standards that often involve value judgments, which is another problem.

Let me give an example...as a young 30-year-old executive for G.H. Bass Shoe Company back in the early 90s, I stood up against the Japanese "just in time" (JIT) inventory/production strategy because it was clear that it would not work well for our company. JIT required us to always pay freight minimums for small orders...both purchases of materials and deliveries of finished shoes, and the freight cost (and customer angst for not having enough WIP and raw materials on hand to meet order changes, schedule changes, etc.) was destroying our profitability and our reputation in the shoe industry.

As it turned out, upper management didn't care because they were using the strategy to INTENTIONALLY make U.S. domestic production "obsolete" and "impossible" so that they could move production off shore. I complained about this strenuously and was eventually fired.

On the way out the door I predicted to those who would listen that the goal was to shut down one of America's oldest shoe companies entirely. Four years later, ALL of Bass Shoes were made off shore, and that large factory which was the back bone of our hometown economy was shuttered.

So...working both hard and smart can sometimes get you fired, when upper management does not have the interests of the American people at heart and when they care ONLY about the bottom line, even if it destroys the company in the long run.