I am reading Seth Godin's most recent book Tribes and came across a quote that caught my attention. He was taking a spin at The Peter Principle.
"In a hierarchy every employee rises to his or her level of incompetence." - Dr. Lawrence Peter
Basically Adam Smith on hierarchical organizations.
"In a heirarchy every employee rises to the level at which they become paralyzed with fear." - Seth Godin
Basically Freud (or Tony Robins) on hierarchical organizations.
"Leadership is nature's way of removing morons from the productive flow." - Dilbert
Basically any person who is currently aware that they are working for a moron on hierarchical organizations.
I am sure that the good Dr. Pete was a pretty smart guy and did not intend for his statement to live in a vacuum, but since we have all met moron managers and brilliant people that just lack the self confidence ...I think I will praise Pete on his very badass Life picture but pass on following his principles. (Random Thought - Dr. Pete looks a little bit like Dwight from The Office).
I personally prefer the Godin version of the three. I think self confidence (or the lack thereof) is one of the biggest catalysts (or deterrents) to advancement. I have followed Seth's blog for years and read most of his books (TBD on my review of the Tribes book...it is a little disorganized stream of thought so far). His writing as far as books go is a little hit-or-miss, but as far as blogging goes for the people within the Advertising industry ...he is a master. He consistently finds simple insights in life that he is able to turn into short posts about marketing that evoke thought and engage the reader and keep them coming back. As far as Peter Principles go, the entrepreneurial Seth definitely follows his own version of that principle.
Which one do you like best - or what is your own spin on The Peter Principle?