Peter Principle - Explained
What is the Peter Principle?
Written by Jason Gordon
Updated at May 12th, 2022
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What is the Peter Principle?
The Peter Principle, originated by Peter and Hull, states that "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence". That is, successful members of a hierarchical organization are eventually promoted to their highest level of competence, after which further promotion raises them to a level just beyond their highest level of competence.
As a consequence, every post in any hierarchical organization tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out his duties.