Prove what point? There have clearly been crooked or underhanded companies that achieved success. Microsoft in its early heyday, for example. The fact that they paid a price for it doesn't obviate the fact that they still managed to become one of the biggest companies in history by market cap despite their bad behavior. Heck, what about Donald Trump? Hardly anyone in business has their crookedness as extensively documented as Trump and he has decent odds of being a two-term US President.
What about the guy who repaired my TV once, where it worked for literally a single day, and then he 100% ghosted me? What was I supposed to do, try to get him canceled online? Seems like being a little shady didn't manage to do him any harm.
It's not clear to me whether it's usually worth it to be underhanded, but it happens frequently enough that I'm not sure the cost is all that high.
What about the guy who repaired my TV once, where it worked for literally a single day, and then he 100% ghosted me? What was I supposed to do, try to get him canceled online? Seems like being a little shady didn't manage to do him any harm.
It's not clear to me whether it's usually worth it to be underhanded, but it happens frequently enough that I'm not sure the cost is all that high.