A few important things happened in the year I was born.
One of them was that a fellow named Laurence J. Peter got together with Raymond Hull, and put out a book that sat on my father’s bookshelf until the day I read it.
It then made its way into my room at home, and subsequently into my counselling office where it stayed until I lent it out to one too many people and someone didn’t return it.
After I had about 3 more people come to me where I looked to the blank space on the bookshelf for its inspiration, I eventually ignored the fact that it is out of print and bought a pre-loved copy.
I have never let it out of my office since.
The book is “The Peter Principle”.
It examines all levels of society and its institutions, be they government, industry, business, education, religion, the arts, and more.
It analyzes the root cause of why success is a rarity and failure is common.
To quote page 25, “…my analysis of hundreds of cases of occupational incompetence led me to formulate The Peter Principle
‘In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His (sic) Level of Incompetence’
The overall idea is this…
If you are an employee in a job and you are good at it ie competent, then someone will try and give you a promotion.
When you get promoted you will no longer be doing that job. You will start doing another one.
In this next job you may once again be good at it, and be offered a promotion.
However if you are not good at the job then you go no further.
Nor will you be un-promoted back to the job you were good at before.
This means that over time you as an employee will rise to a level in the heirarchy where you are at your “level of incompetence.”
This very simplified summary of the first chapter of the book is enough for most people to be able to find examples.
Read a newspaper, watch the news, or just look around your life.
Sometimes examples are in workplace you are in, or at the public institutions and private companies that you deal with every day.
Incompetence is rampant.
When I first began my counselling practice, I would explain “The Peter Principle” to people who were needing to make sense of the workplace stress they were under.
The message was that everyone around them, including their boss, was likely to be incompetent.
This tended to soothe their nerves.
The deeper message was that they themselves were likely to be incompetent in their position at work too, and this was probably contributing to their problems.
Many fewer got this second level message.
But over time I realized that this second level was even more pervasive.
It didn’t just apply to people when they were in organisations, it applies in every aspect of success in life!
If you are good at sport do you win more?
No, you just start playing higher levels and harder competition so you still lose.
If you are good at hunting for a job, are you hired to hunt for jobs?
No, you now work at something else that probably doesn’t involve searching Help Wanted ads.
If you earn more money what is the commonest next step?
You get encouraged to go for a raise, make an investment, or start up a business.
If you acquire social skills then you do you sit back and party?
Perhaps, or you may start dating, then marrying, then having small kids, who grow into big kids, who could make you into a grandparent.
So if you succeed at becoming competent at almost anything in life what is the natural consequence?
You will move into a new role…
…with no guarantee you will be any good!
So, what are the consequences of “The Peter Principle” for your success in life?
If you have been wondering why everyone else around you is incompetent, then get this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Principle-Laurence-J/dp/0848821564
Be warned: it is written in jest, so that as a reader your tears are mainly of laughter.
Dilbert cartoons are a modern equivalent.
As I post this there are 20 Amazon reviews. You will discover that on the 5 star customer rating scale NO ONE gives this 3 stars. A few people hate it, most people love it – there is very little middle ground for this book.
If you have been wondering why you are still stuck with problems, and are not creating the results and success you want out of life, then you are ready for the second level message.
This is the product I offer for you to help yourself:http://www.SelfHelpMeeting.com
-Dr Martin W. Russell
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9 Comments
Only yesterday was I quoting the Peter Principle to a hypnotherapy client! I have lived by it since the ’50s… as have my whole family. I give it 5 stars for its message. Thank you for your comments praising my old book-friend.
This article gets you thinking about your own mortality in the world of a “job”! You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, try to succeed, that is! The point unnamed is that one should continue to keep trying to succeed and grow regardless of their anticipated escalation to what would seem to be eventual incompetency, as that eventuality just might escalate you to own your own company and then all the headaches are yours!!! Definitely 4 stars for this omission.
Hi Di,
Oooh, 1950s. I’m not quite that old.
I’ll leave it to another post to say exactly what year I was born
-Dr Martin W. Russell
I liked the article about Peter principle. I didn’t know it has a name, but I knew the priciple already. When promoting somebody, I always gave them the chance to return to previous job – even if they don’t want to. Some people don’t like me for this. I give them the “chance” to promote, not the guarantee. I discovered that if you “wrap it” well, some people will be happy to know that if they fail the previous job is still waiting. Others hate the ideea.
I believe we were born with a purpose and destiny. Set-backs, demotions or promotions are all in God’s plan to keep you on the right road to destiny. Call it what you may, Peter principle or whosever principl,everything has a name. But every name must succomb to the name of Jesus, Who is the ultimate gift giver.
I remember my mother talking about this book 40 years ago.
Honey Ward
I guess I must be a major incompetent!
Because the minute I master one thing, I like to advance and move onto another thing where I can learn more and become a more rounded person with more knowledge and insight.
Yasmeen,
“The Peter Principle” doesn’t solve the problem it poses.
But yes there is a solution, and it seems like you may have it.
However be aware of the pseudo-solution, which is that a person will remain at their level of competence if there is no way to progress to a next level.
For example, if you rise through company ranks to be CEO and are actually competent as CEO, then there is no way to promote you higher. The company then continues to have a competent CEO.
Of course this is a pseudo solution because the competent CEO then could go onto other boards, such as a local school board, where their high-level management skills may well be overbearing, pushy, or in some other way unsuitable ie useful only for incompetence.
With this more open definition of getting promoted up the ‘heirarchy’ The Peter Principle applies again in full force.
-Dr Martin W. Russell
Well written and a great explanation of the Peter Principle. And the biggest problem in the work environment is that everybody wants to get that promotion. I used to promote those people, who were heading into PP territory, out of the organisation.
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