I said "most people" and not "all people" and I don't know that many effective people since everyone I know is in the education sector and they all simply follo

I said "most people" and not "all people" and I don't know that many effective people since everyone I know is in the education sector and they all simply follow conventions be it in their research or teaching. It's like you said, very few are willing to break the mold but that doesn't mean one can't attain powerful positions by following conventions and not being effective.