Laurence J. Peter
Laurence J. Peter was a Canadian educator and author, best known for formulating the "Peter Principle," a theory that suggests individuals in a hierarchical organization tend to rise to their level of incompetence. Born on September 16, 1919, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Peter's early fascination with psychology influenced his educational pursuits, culminating in a doctorate in education. His career in public education included work as a mental health services coordinator, but his frustrations with bureaucracy led him to academia, where he taught at institutions like the University of British Columbia and the University of Southern California.
In collaboration with playwright Raymond Hull, Peter developed the Peter Principle, which humorously critiques organizational inefficiencies. The book detailing this concept, published in 1969, became a bestseller, selling nearly ten million copies and sparking widespread discussion about corporate dynamics. Peter continued to explore themes of incompetence and organizational improvement in subsequent works, including "The Peter Prescription" and "The Peter Plan." By the early 1980s, he had established a notable presence in literature, producing various entertaining and insightful volumes. Peter passed away on January 12, 1990, after suffering a stroke, leaving behind a legacy of thought-provoking ideas about education and organizational behavior.
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Laurence J. Peter
Educator
- Born: September 16, 1919
- Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Died: January 12, 1990
- Place of death: Palos Verdes Estates, California
Biography
Laurence J. Peter was born on September 16, 1919, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of a local repertory company actor. The young Peter was drawn toward the sciences, particularly psychology, and developed a keen interest in the classroom and the dynamics of education as a system for efficiently delivering information and instruction. He completed his own education with remarkable efficiency, earning his B. A. in 1957 and his master’s degree in education in 1958 from Western Washington State College and receiving a doctorate in education in 1963 from Washington State University. While attending college, Peter worked for the public education system of Vancouver, including a lengthy stint as its mental health services coordinator. Frustrated by the often cumbersome city bureaucracy, he decided to pursue university teaching, initially at the University of British Columbia from 1964 until 1966 and then at the University of Southern California from 1966 until 1974.
A chance conversation in 1964 between Peter and a playwright and creative writing instructor named Raymond Hull during the intermission of an abysmal local theater production would eventually lead the two of them to construct an elaborate theory. According to their thesis, within any hierarchical system—from a theater company to a school system, from a government to a major corporation—members of that network continue to rise steadily and earn promotions until they reach a level of responsibility that exceeds their talents, resulting in inevitable corporate incompetence. Together, Peter and Hull drafted a study of this idea, which they dubbed, for alliterative purposes, the Peter Principle. The study was at once lightly tongue-in-cheek yet grounded in a provocative thesis concerning how a network functions despite, rather than because, of its highest placed members. After being rejected by numerous publishers unable to appreciate its revolutionary approach and uncertain whether to market it as a textbook or a satire, The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong was published in 1969 and became an immediate publishing phenomenon, selling close to ten million copies and stimulating an international discussion on the implications that the criticisms raised about corporate operations.
Quickly capitalizing on his success, Peter published a series of follow-up studies that first explored strategies for networks to fight incompetence (The Peter Prescription and How to Make Things Go Right) and then sought to apply the theory of corporate mismanagement and the pathology of business failure to humanity’s larger struggle to manage the environment and stay in command of rapidly expanding technology (The Peter Plan: A Proposal for Survival). Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Times and Peter’s Almanac, both entertaining best-selling volumes of factoids, quotations, and anecdotes, reflect how, by the early 1980’s, the name Peter had become something of a cottage industry. In The Laughter Prescription, a self-help manual coauthored with comedian Bill Dana, Peter applied his interest in hierarchies and the dynamics of corporate efficiency to the individual struggling to manage stress and time efficiently and creatively.
Living from the considerable rewards of his celebrity and his best-selling books, Peter died after a debilitating stroke on January 12, 1990, in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Initially compelled by a satiric take on the frustrations he had experienced within education systems, Peter ultimately was sustained by his resilient faith that organizations could improve and succeed if they used the appropriate models. He tirelessly and persuasively preached this gospel of efficiency and competency with wit, gentleness, and wry understatement.