• Interpretation based on knowledge of [Peterā€™s law
  • 1: The higher the promotion, the greater the scope of knowledge required for the job.
  • 2: But the time spent on learning it does not increase in proportion to the increase in scope.
  • 3: As a result, the more you are promoted, the less knowledge you have.

I saw a story that this logic has a gap between 2 and 3. Since the time available to humans in a unit of time is limited, ā€œ2: The time spent on learning does not increase in proportion to the increase in scopeā€ is correct. If knowledge is gained in proportion to the ā€œtime spent on acquisition,ā€ knowledge can only grow on a linear order.

However, if we steer toward increasing the speed of knowledge acquisition itself, knowledge acquisition will occur at a rate faster than time-proportional. For example, have someone outside the company to consult with and learn through knowledge exchange. For example, consult with subordinates with expertise and ask them to teach you.

For those who have realized and prepared in advance for the need to increase the rate of knowledge acquisition that accompanies promotion, promotion will not cause incompetence, but for those who have not, inevitable incompetence will occur. In that light, performance may ultimately be determined by competence/incompetence in the meta sense of ā€œwhether or not you realize itā€.


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