Hard work and smart work go hand in hand together. You should not be only focused on either one of them. Smart work saves time and effort and in corporate world if you can save either one of them, you're an asset. But there is no substitute for hard work. When there is no option, hard work will always come in handy. The time spent on refining the skill will never go to waste. Your product will be good if you're skills are refined and if you can deliver it quickly and lesser effort, you can increase your customers and hence your value.