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The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong Paperback – Illustrated, 25 October 2011

by Dr Laurence J Peter (Author), Raymond Hull (Author)

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"The Peter Principle has cosmic implications."
--New York Times

Back in 1969, Lawrence J. Peter created a cultural phenomenon with his brilliant, outrageous, hilarious, and all-too-true treatise on business and life, The Peter Principle--and his words and theories are as true today as they were then. By posing--and answering--the eternal question, "Why do things always go wrong?" Peter explores the incompetence that runs so rampant through our society, our workplace, and our world in an outrageously funny yet honest and eye-opening manner. With a new foreword by Robert I. Sutton, bestselling author of The No Asshole Rule, this twenty-first century edition of Peter's classic is set to shake up the business world all over again.

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Language : English
Paperback : 192 pages
ISBN-10 : 0062092065

Best Sellers Rank: 7,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 67 in U.S. Literature
- 131 in Business Management
- 137 in Humor

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446 ratings

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"[The Peter Principle] has struck a throbbing public nerve... a minor cultural phenomenon and its title phrase, like Parkinson's Law, is certain to enter the language."--Life magazine

"Ruefully delightful ... excruciatingly applicable--and fun to read"--Playboy

"The Peter Principle has cosmic implications."--The New York Times

From the Back Cover

The classic #1 New York Times bestseller that answers the age-old question
Why is incompetence so maddeningly rampant and so vexingly triumphant?

The Peter Principle, the eponymous law Dr. Laurence J. Peter coined, explains that everyone in a hierarchy--from the office intern to the CEO, from the low-level civil servant to a nation's president--will inevitably rise to his or her level of incompetence. Dr. Peter explains why incompetence is at the root of everything we endeavor to do--why schools bestow ignorance, why governments condone anarchy, why courts dispense injustice, why prosperity causes unhappiness, and why utopian plans never generate utopias.

With the wit of Mark Twain, the psychological acuity of Sigmund Freud, and the theoretical impact of Isaac Newton, Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull's The Peter Principle brilliantly explains how incompetence and its accompanying symptoms, syndromes, and remedies define the world and the work we do in it.

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Amazon.com: 206 reviews

Stephen

My Dad Was Right!

3 January 2019 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

Growing up my father would always talk about the Peter Principle, and how we were doomed to be surrounded by incompetent people. He usually talked about the Peter Principle when I was having a pity party for myself because I had messed up at school or work. So when I saw this Kindle version in the daily e-book deals, I had to get it.
I will confess there were times I was laughing out loud and other times a feeling of dread came over me while reading it. Peter and Hull nail it, and they do so in a humorous way. Anyone who is looking for a promotion should read this book. In fact, if you have been turned down for promotion, you should read this book. The book is very funny while being extremely candid.

8 people found this helpful

RMF

Great Book

22 February 2020 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

This book was written in 1965 and first published in 69, so more than half a century ago, yet it is still very relevant.

It portraits the hierarchical nature of the workplace environment making use of machiavellian and satirical
approaches.

It contains several pearls of wisdom and provides a looking glass into human nature and the nature of the workplace environment that I could (and Im sure most people will also) be able to relate to.

In some cases, the advice provided is quite straight forward, and in other cases, the descriptions have wonderfully
confirmed what I already believed to be true, not only by observing my reality working for 20 years on a
multinational corporation, but also by listening to stories of friends who work for the government. Sadly I must
attest to the fact that both environments suffer from the exact same maladies the book describes. Human flaws
like mediocrity, conformity, selfishness and self-preservation instinct help create the conditions the book
describes.

Overall it is an easy and refreshing read that you can finish in a day and from which you can gain
multiple insights about what it means to be working under a hierarchical structure and wishing to
advance your carerr by getting promoted.

Highly recommended for the one beginning his/her professional journey, and even for the seasoned
professional that somehow still retains a "Pollyana" view about how the workplace environment works.

One person found this helpful

Adama Coulibaly

A great book with great case studies

12 April 2015 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

I really love this book: very interesting to read with several real life case studies that are sometime hilarious. For example a receptionist has returned a mail to the sender to be resent by post to ensure safe delivery as per company policy.

Peter classified incompetence in 4 categories and how they manifest themselves:

1. Physical incompetence. This is what we usually focus on,

2. Social incompetence,

3. Emotional incompetence, and

4. Mental incompetence.

Usually we try to fix the physical incompetence by bringing more resources particularly HR. Then we progressively create what the author refers to as the Peter Spiral. We ended of creating the other incompetence and find ourselves with several people that have reached the Peter's Plateau and has a Promotion Quotient of zero.

Once a manager/leader reached the Peter's Plateau, instead of carrying out his or her duties, he or she found substitution techniques. For example he or she delays decisions making through:

- Downward Buckpass: a subordinate is asked to decide an issue that is really above his level of responsibility,

- Upward Buckpass: examine the case until he finds some tiny point which will justify sending it to a higher level, and

- Outward Buckpass: assemble a committee and follow majority vote.

When you show the above signs frequently, the person was promoted beyond his level of competence and has reached the Peter's Plateau.

The good news is that there are remedies. Some of these remedies can be taken by individuals and some of them by organisations. When these remedies are well applied, most people will work at their level of competence and society as a whole will benefit.

This book is a must read for HR professionals and leaders in all organisations.

15 people found this helpful

Lorrie A. Oyer

This will open your eyes and possibly save your sanity

12 November 2020 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

I always instinctively knew some of the principles outlined in this book, but was never able to verbalize or put them all together. When you see the scenerios of the incompetent people's promotions play out in your place of work, you'll understand why the incompetent people get promoted, and how they're able to keep their jobs. I was often one of the people who got stepped on for doing too good a job(or "rocking the boat"), and I never understood why until I read this book. It restored my faith in my sanity(but not in humanity--humanity ruined that for me).

One person found this helpful

Alex

Interesting book, it will help you understand how sometimes ...

20 March 2017 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

Interesting book, it will help you understand how sometimes people that don't seem to deserve it get promoted. It is also makes you think that you need to prevent to get a promotion unless you actually deserve it.

5 people found this helpful

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The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong Paperback – Illustrated, 25 October 2011

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