Ruler - 25 Human Laws that Dominate Social Development

Author: Xing Chi-hua, Kuang Zhi-qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:——
In September 2005, a hurricane of a century struck the southern coastal regions of the United States. This hurricane had a beautiful name—Katrina—but its devastation was considered the worst in U.S. history. New Orleans was the hardest-hit area. For several days after the hurricane, the city was in chaos. Hundreds of police officers abandoned their posts, and looting and lawlessness occurred, which were exposed by the media. After the hurricane, although the situation in New Orleans had calmed down, the political repercussions did not cease. On September 26, the U.S. Broadcasting Company reported that New Orleans Police Chief Compass resigned. Compass had served in the New Orleans Police Department for 26 years, having worked his way up from the bottom to the position of police chief. During this time, he had shown excellent performance. However, the Katrina hurricane incident demonstrated that he was not qualified for the role of police chief. This news made many think of the "Peter Principle," a widely circulated social law in the West.
A Legendary Encounter
The proposer of the Peter Principle, Laurence Peter, was a Canadian born on September 16, 1919. He grew up in Vancouver from a young age. Starting in 1941, Peter held various jobs, including teacher, school psychologist, prison counselor, and consultant. After becoming a teacher, Peter noticed a phenomenon that shocked him greatly: many teachers and principals seemed unsure of their roles and thus failed to fulfill their responsibilities. At first, he thought this was just a problem in some schools, but as he gained more experience and broadened his horizons, Peter gradually realized that incompetence was not limited to certain schools or organizations; it existed in every organization where many people were unable to perform their jobs properly. Determined to explore the deeper reasons behind this phenomenon, he decided to investigate.
In September 1960, Peter publicly presented the "Peter Principle" at a seminar: "In a hierarchical organization, every employee tends to rise to a position where they are no longer competent." His audience that day was a group of tax statisticians. When Peter introduced his findings, the reactions of the audience were varied. Many mocked him, while a young statistician, laughing hysterically at his humorous presentation, even fell off his chair.
In December 1963, Peter attended a dull play. During the intermission of the second act, he unexpectedly met the author of the play, Raymond Herr. Herr was English and had come to Canada in 1947, becoming a journalist in Vancouver at the age of thirty. To excel in this role, he enrolled in a summer writing workshop organized by the University of British Columbia. The instructors discovered that Herr was a writing genius! Encouraged by them, Herr developed a strong interest in becoming a writer and began writing in his spare time, creating many television scripts for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Later, he wrote several plays, which were performed on stage. It was one of these plays that led to his first encounter with Laurence Peter. Herr was puzzled by the play's ability to put audiences to sleep and complained about it in the theater lobby. Peter then pointed out that this was because the actors and director were not competent enough. For example, the protagonist would deliver lines with his back to the audience and gesture to the sides of the stage, attempting to play multiple roles—actor, director, and producer. Herr and Peter struck up a friendship, and after the play, Herr came to Peter's home, and they talked until 3 a.m. Herr was delighted, feeling as though he had finally found a kindred spirit. P3-5