Peter Principle

The Peter Observation

 

Have you ever noticed someone at work who was promoted above their level of competence?

 

Years ago, Lawrence J. Peter published the Peter Principle. It was a best seller for weeks.

 

Here’s the short story:

 

“In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence.”

 

So, how true is it? Is there really a Peter Principle—or at least a Peter Observation?

 

Forbes summarized a recent study supporting the idea.

 

“Consistent with the Peter Principle, we find that promotion decisions place more weight on current performance than would be justified if firms only tried to promote the best potential managers,” the researchers concluded. “The most productive worker is not always the best candidate for manager, and yet firms are significantly more likely to promote top frontline sales workers into managerial positions. As a result, the performance of a new manager’s subordinates declines relatively more after the managerial position is filled by someone who was a strong salesperson prior to promotion.”

The Book

The Peter Principle by Lawrence J. Peter

 

Read more at this Forbes link

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roddwagner/2018/04/10/new-evidence-the-peter-principle-is-real-and-what-to-do-about-it/?sh=e04c9b91809c