Peter Principle Advanced
Leadership Lessons from Trump - Lesson 2
Donald Trump is a treasure trove of leadership lessons, if only because there are so many cautionary tales to glean from politics. Indeed, politics is corporate management in the limit, with all the positives and negatives of the corporate world taken to an extreme. It’s a brutal, high-stakes arena where the best and worst management practices are laid bare. While Trump’s first term was, shall we say, inconsistent in his leadershit ™, he’s clearly learned a thing or two. And we should learn from him too – for better or, more likely, for much, much worse (Readers may also look at Leadership Lesson #1).
#1: In a hierarchy, employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence.
Looking at the mind-boggling lineup of his Politburo picks, one lesson deserves its mention: Peter Principle, Advanced Version. We all know the original Peter Principle: In a hierarchy, employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence. It’s a classic observation of bureaucratic bloat. But Trump has, with alarming proficiency, taken it to the next level. He's not just allowing incompetence to organically rise; he's proactively selecting it.
#2: In a hierarchy, hiring an employee whose competence is below the required level guarantees their unswerving loyalty.
His genius lies in what we might call the "advanced" Peter Principle: In a hierarchy, hiring an employee whose competence is below the required level guarantees their unswerving loyalty. By consistently choosing individuals several levels below the needed skill set, he's created a cabinet of power-hungry sycophants, meticulously designed for maximum compliance and zero attempt to question or contradict the Fuhrer. He's deliberately cultivating a culture of unquestioning obedience. It’s not just incompetence; it's strategic, ruthlessly efficient, and chillingly effective for anyone aspiring to autocratic rule.
Disgusting and unfortunate as it is, these leadershit™ principles can be extremely powerful when applied in the earthly corporate environment – if your purpose is not to make things better, not to "serve people," not to actually create value, but to advance to another, and yet another career rung, eventually reaching the limits determined by the immutable original Peter Principle. This is advanced personnel management, Trump-style.