A Brief History
The Peter Principle is “management” book from the 70s.
Written by Dr Laurence J Peter and Raymond Hull, it opens with an eponymous principle that postulates – “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”.
Simply put, they say that a good soldier may not make a good general. A good teacher does not translate to a good principal. Good foreman – Not so good shift supervisor. You get the drift.
While this wasn’t the first “serious” work to identify this phenomenon, it certainly wasn’t the last – case in point being the “Dilbert Principle”. It was however the first one to neatly identify and sum up this phenomenon into a handy catchphrase.
The book was wildly popular – it sold a million copies and spent 33 weeks on the NYT bestseller list (Forbes magazine). It was cited and feted as a path breaking management book and became the subject of serious research.
But now, it seems there’s a twist in this tale.
Serious or Satire ?
Subsequent research has lead to a rethink of whether this is a “real” management book or actually satire.
For this theory has aged well – unlike those espoused in books like “Built to Last” and about Japanese management.
It has also been validated empirically – an honour reserved for real McCoys like the Pareto (80:20) principle.
And so the question remains – serious research or satire ?
Many years after having read it for the first time, I’d lean towards the latter.
Mostly because no cow is too holy for the writers.
- They debunk many a management “best practice” by citing “case studies” featuring employees named “Miss Oval, Mrs. Cylinder, Mr. Ellipse, Mr. Cube, Mr. Sphere and Mr. Tinker” – and this isn’t done to “protect privacy”
- They define a bachelor as “a man who decided to look before leaping, and then didn’t”.
- They go on to anoint Socrates as a great teacher who wasn’t a competent defence attorney.
- And introduce euphemisms like “percussive sublimation” (kicked upstairs) and “lateral arabeque” (a fancy title) to describe people movements
- They also “violate” an academic “rule” of not naming a principle after yourself !
Dr Peter followed this up with another volume titled “The Peter Prescription” – a book that outlined ways to overcome the effects of this principle.
Both volumes remain essential, common sense reading – especially in today’s hyper connected world that leaves little time for reflection.
A Tryst With A Twist
Sometime in summer 2010 – I’d just moved to the Delhi office in a new role with my first organization. I was summoned to the senior most manager’s cabin and somehow the conversation turned to the “principle” and if I’d heard of it.
I hadn’t quite anticipated my manager’s surprise when I said yes.
So he went a level deeper and asked me to state it.
Which I promptly did.
Then suddenly came the clincher – “Do you think I have reached my level of incompetence ?” – he boomed.
I don’t remember what I said, but I do remember he let me off the hook merely for getting the first two questions right !
Stepping out of the cabin, I heaved a sigh of relief and mentally thanked my father and his book shelf for having introduced this to me at an early age. And we got a laugh out of it when I narrated this to him later.
Fun fact : Dr Peter was born in Canada
References / Further Reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle
Forbes Magazine
https://medium.com/@kavyachaturvedi10/the-peter-principle-131b6c3ce27e
One reply on “The Peter Principle Story”
I never heard of this principle but this was a fun way to learn the it. Nicely put!