Peter Principle Turns 40

I’ve worked my way through college to pay for my schooling.  Yes, I was not fortunate enough to have parents to pay for my books, fees, parking, meals, tuition fees….  I somehow managed to get up at about 0500 hrs in the wee hours to catch the “Rapid Transit” bus for a 1.25 hr drive to school.  Classes started at about 0730 hrs each morning and ended late in the day.  Then, I somewhat staggered to get myself to work and my day was not over til about midnight.  Somehow,  I numbly rumbled through this cycle for several years.  Yet, through all this I kept focused and somehow got through it.

What does the title of this topic have anything to do with my life?  Well, it has a lot to do with it, yet, as I reflect on it, I was not able to fully verbalize what I was seeing.   Lawrence J.Peter (Peter Principle) and Raymond Hull capitalized on this observation in their satiric treatise on workplace incompetence.  Written back in 1969, the book (“The Peter Principle”) was and continues to be a perspective on hiring practices and promotions.  Some of us are flattered to be considered for promotion but do not truly reflect on the consequences.  Am I fully qualified to take on such responsibilities?  Am I owed such a promotion?  Does money dictate my needs?  I think that the answer to these questions can be mystifying and revealing about a person’s true character.  Some of us have seen these promotions turn to horror stories.  A job opening is posted for a supervisory/management position.  Job description is delineated, minimum requirements are listed, and educational experience is added as a perfunctory statement.  Do all applicants meet the qualifications?  Probably not.  Do all candidates for the job have a distorted perspective of their qualifications?  This is a hard question to answer in many respects.  I am going to go on a tangent right now and switch to a perennial boob-tube program: American Idol.  Each and every year for the last 6-7 years, American Idol starts off its season by presenting case studies on inordinate behavior.  I love music.  It is an integral part of my life.  I do sing in the shower.  That is it.  Would I ever, in my wildest imagination, think that I have a singing voice?  Much less, go in front of a camera, and pretent to do so?  Never.  I am flabbergasted and discombobulated to think that some of these American Idol participants truly think that they have a gift.  Same way with people that apply for jobs.

It is difficult at best to sort through job applications, much less, having to select an individual that meets the minimum qualifications for a job and is able to meld with current staff.