# Peter Principle A concept in [management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management "Management") developed by [Laurence J. Peter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_J._Peter "Laurence J. Peter"), which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.