Mrs. Reality:
In 1996, Consumer Reports had a rating of beers. There were various categories, naturally, but the one that stood out the most to me was for domestic lagers. The highest rated beers, in a tie, were Old Milwaukee and Stroh's. Two of the most criticized beers in America rose above their advertising-driven peers (such as Budweiser and Michelob) to hold the crown of "#1 Domestic Lager". What exactly does this mean? Nothing, of course. I just like beer and probably spend too much time thinking about it. The best part of the report was that my favorite, readily available beer was #1 in the microbrew catergory - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
In retrospect, however, this may relate to John Conley's point about players like Ben Wallace making it to the NBA. If you deserve to be someplace, ultimately you will find your way there. If your concern has to do with rankings somehow hindering future employment opportunities (which it sounds like to me), I think you may be selling yourself quite short. If you are good enough at what you do, you'll be noticed if you work diligently and intelligently to advance (and of course, have a great personality!). Overall, I think the architects would have the biggest beef about any of the process because they are the closest to actually being judged. For a super, golf professional, or GM to be adversely effected in the scope of their career is ridiculous. In the golf business, I always believed you needed to have a good view of what was ahead of you five years down the road. You'd be hard pressed to convince me that the rankings of any magazine had an impact that far reaching.
Peace out.
Sobe