They All Know Me. They Know My Offense. The Principle In Action.

According to all of the information I can find, including the groundbreaking book, The Peter Principle, basically the treatise is that within a given structure or career field, a person can continue to get promoted into new positions based (theoretically) on current job performance until he is promoted to a position which shows his level of incompetence — where the employee has no chance of further promotion, thus reaching his or her career's ceiling in an organization. Now, of course, there are different reasons people get "promoted."

In one school district, a former principal received a new job. He had been the middle school principal for several years. Suddenly, he was the assistant to the high school assistant principal, the testing coordinator, and a few other "jobs" no one in the organization wanted. I spoke with a friend the other day and he said, "I think people are figuring out that (name omitted)'s promotion isn't a promotion."

I found this interesting quote in the newspaper the other day. Coaching is serious business, and not at all easy to do, especially at the varsity level. Coaching takes organization, people skills, understanding of X's and O's, etc. I've worked with many coaches who I have explained the necessity of organization ... and in a review after the season, the coach has expressed that he/she wished they would have listened closer when I discussed organization as a coach. Anyway, here's an interesting quote from a first–time varsity coach:

"Most of these girls I've seen them as ninth-graders," the coach said.

"I've got my roster set with 10 girls. They all know me. All the girls know my offense."

Is this what it is about? Setting your roster after the first practice and saying "my" offense. Is that what coaching is all about? I wonder what kind of season that team will enjoy.

I've also heard of coaches announcing their starters before the first practice of a given season. Even if you have a decent idea, I don't think a coach needs to proclaim the starters. What is there to work for?



The first time the Peter Principle hit home with me was following a job interview about seven years ago. A CEO had told me, "Well, the committee recommended two people and they weren't supposed to tip their hat. But, Rick, I know what they were telling me to do. We'll be talking soon." He smiled and his body language assured me that I would receive the job offer.

A couple days went by and he finally called. He had offered the position to another person because, "Well, one of the visitation members thought you might struggle with discipline. We just feel that you might exhibit the Peter Principle." I was shocked, hurt. Frustrated. I heard from employees in the organization later that they were surprised about the ultimate choice. Furthermore, the person they hired to run the site in question ended up run out of town ... Maybe the CEO ended up confused in the Peter Principle discussion and told me the wrong story ... Nah, it just ended up that way.