The Peter Principle states that, in a hierarchy, people tend to rise to their level of incompetence. A quick Google search on "the peter principle" yields about 250,000,000 results, many of which attest to the principle's veracity. I, too, can attest to it, having worked at a university for 31 years: on more than a few occasions, I've witnessed—and even directly suffered the consequences of—people being promoted beyond their level of competence.
According to Wikipedia, Dr. Laurence J. Peter "conducted the research that led to the formulation of the Peter Principle well before publishing his findings. He worked with Raymond Hull on a book that elucidated his observations about hierarchies. The principle is named for Peter because although Hull actually wrote the book, it is a summary of Peter's research." William Morrow and Company published The Peter Principle in 1969.
In the late 1970s, Peter published another, less academic book called Peter's People, which, according to its description on Amazon, "takes a close a [sic] humorous look at the wit and wisdom of his favorite people and gives them the full 'Peter Principle' treatment." Peter hired cartoonist Matt Wuerker, my friend and colleague at Will Vinton Productions, to illustrate the book.
One day shortly after his book was released, Dr. Peter was in Portland (likely on a book tour), and Matt brought him to the studio for a tour. Peter was probably 60 at the time and looked older than his years. He was about six feet tall and dressed in slacks, dress shoes, and an overcoat. He didn't seem interested in shaking my hand, and I didn't force the issue. I thought he seemed antisocial—or maybe just worn down from all the traveling and speaking he no doubt had to do for each new book.
Anyway, I was unimpressed, and I remember thinking, "If this guy can have a principle named after him, anyone can."
Which I hereby dub the Cooper Principle.
No comments:
Post a Comment