HOW DO YOU GET PROMOTED?

I attended an interesting seminar yesterday, delivered by a business professor. She presented the topic, "Myths on Moving Up the Ladder." A lot of good stuff here, but one thing in particular really resonated:

You won't get promoted at work as a reward for how well you do your job, but rather only for how your promotion will play in to the company's overall succession planning process. It's all about the company's needs - not yours.

Interesting - is this really true?