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Zusammenfassung von The Peter Principle

Name: The Peter Principle
Rating: 4.2 (39 reviews)
Author: Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

Why Things Always Go Wrong

4.2 (39 Bewertungen)

11 Min.

Kurz zusammengefasst

The Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull is a humorous business book that discusses how employees tend to get promoted until they reach their level of incompetence, leading to inefficiencies and hilariously awkward situations in the workplace.

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What’s in it for me? Learn why you can’t escape a destiny of incompetence!

There are a handful of unforgettable, brilliant theories that manage to encapsulate our entire lives in a single sentence. Think of Moore’s Law, Godwin’s Law and so on.

The Peter Principle is another one of those. To sum it up: The great work you’re doing now will inevitably get you promoted to a job you can’t do. Sorry, but that’s what’s going to happen.

These blinks show how the Peter Principle proves that we’re all doomed to incompetence. And since incompetence is all around us, we have to learn how to deal with it!

In these blinks, you’ll find out

how to avoid that last fateful promotion to the job you’ll be incompetent at;
what doctors can prove about your incompetency; and
how to speed up your promotions, though it won’t make you many friends!

Incompetence is inescapable.

Ever wondered why those at the top of your workplace’s hierarchy seem so incompetent? Well, it’s because they are! But why? Let the Peter Principle explain.

The Peter Principle states that every member of a hierarchy will eventually rise to their level of incompetence, or final placement. This position is the furthest you can be promoted with the skills that you possess. In other words, employees continue to receive promotions as long as they’re competent in their current position.

To illustrate this further, let’s imagine an outstanding elementary school teacher. He receives promotion after promotion until he has lots of responsibility for the students. But eventually, he’ll receive a promotion for which his skills don’t quite qualify him.

Suppose he lands a position on the school board as a coach for new teachers. If he’s unable to engage adults as well as he engages small children, then he’s reached his level of incompetence. In this final placement, his performance won’t merit further promotion.

As individuals, our skills and competencies vary. You might be a genius software developer, and be very proud of that fact. But this doesn’t make you the best fit for a consultancy; perhaps you might simply be unable to cope with the constant pressure of that business.

Some of us are able to rise all the way to the top of a hierarchy without reaching our level of incompetence, so we switch to other hierarchies and find it there. This is called compulsive incompetence. Just look at Socrates: A great teacher; not such a great defense lawyer.

To get that promotion, you have to push or pull.

Now that you’re aware of the Peter Principle, do you know how to get yourself promoted? There are two key ways to go about it. You can pull, or you can push.

A Pull refers to a relationship between employee and superior outside the professional context. Remember that guy who wasn’t the brightest, but was buddies with the owner’s son and got promoted to a senior position before you? He demonstrated an expert use of the pulling technique. Sure, pulling won’t make you very popular among your coworkers, but it will speed up your promotion process.

There are no exceptions to the Peter Principle.

Perhaps you’re harboring doubts about the Peter Principle, as you can recall several cases where it didn’t apply in your own workplace. If someone is promoted even though he obviously reached his level of incompetence, this must be an exception to the rule, right?

Nope. That’s called a pseudo-promotion.

Look out for the common symptoms of Final Placement Syndrome.

By now you might be wondering just what’ll happen to you after you reach your final placement. When you get to your level of incompetence, you simply aren’t able to do your work. And this incompetence leads to some unpleasant maladies.

If you’ve reached your level of incompetence, you might suffer from the Final Placement Syndrome (FPS). Here are some common symptoms: Tabulatory Gigantism – the absolute need to have a bigger desk than your colleagues; or Cachinnatory Inertia – the practice of telling jokes all the time instead of working. No doubt you’ve seen a few of these cases in your own workplace.

Learn to avoid or cope with your incompetence.

Given FPS, reaching your level of incompetence is definitely something to fear. But fret not! If you want to avoid the negative impacts of reaching your final placement, there are ways to ensure you never get there. Creative Incompetence is the best way to steer clear of promotions without rejecting them directly.

To be creatively incompetent, you have to create the image that you have already reached your final placement. In other words, start trying to appear slightly incompetent. This will save you from receiving those unwanted promotion offers. And it’s easier than you think! Some reliable techniques include parking your car from time to time in your boss's spot, failing to laugh at your boss’s jokes and raising uncomfortable topics at the company barbecue.

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Worum geht es in The Peter Principle?

The Peter Principle (1969) explains why you feel like you’re surrounded by incompetence at work – you are! This wry book reveals promotions for what they really are: a progression to our final level of incompetence. These blinks help us understand how corporate hierarchies really function, as well as offering advice on how to deal with our own incompetence.

Bestes Zitat aus The Peter Principle

You will see that in every hierarchy the cream rises until it sours.

—Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

Wer The Peter Principle lesen sollte

Anyone wondering why they’re surrounded by people who can’t do their job
People with dry humor
Those interested in how hierarchies really work

Über den Autor

Laurence J. Peter has worked as a counselor, school psychologist, prison instructor, consultant, professor and writer. Raymond Hull wrote stage plays as well as articles for Esquire, Punch, Maclean’s, among other publications.

Kategorien mit The Peter Principle

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