Welcome to Thinking Thursday where I try to explain an idea, concept, or
philosophy in a way that won’t put you to sleep.
curve to deal with. While the term ‘incompetence’ may have negative
connotations for your self-esteem, that’s how you are for as long as it
takes for you to begin being useful to your employer. I’ve heard that
it will take on average three years for someone new to become proficient
in their job. Once you make it there, it’s possible you’ll be promoted
for a job well done. Now you’re in a new position and the whole process
starts over again. Sound like Groundhog’s Day? Actually, it’s the
Peter Principle (found in a book by Laurence Peter of the same name)
which stated is: in a hierarchically structured administration, people tend to be
promoted up to their “level of incompetence” Depressing? Yes slightly. It does seem to explain a lot of our bad run-ins
with bureaucracy. So how does anything get done? I guess by those
passed up for promotion, although they’re probably bitter.
A more generalized version could say that, “anything that works will continue
to be used in all applications until it fails.” Almost like: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However that’s not full-proof reasoning. Just because your miracle-ginsu knife can cut through a shoe doesn’t meen it’s that best tool for open-heart surgery.
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