Laurence Johnston Peter (September 16, 1919 – January 12, 1990) was a Canadian educator and " hierarchiologist" who is best known to the general public for the formulation of the Peter principle.

Biography

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Peter was the grandson of William Herbert Steves, the founder of Steveston, British Columbia. Peter began his career as a teacher in Vancouver in 1941, and received the degree of

Doctor of Education Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

from

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in Pullman in 1963. In 1966, Peter moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he became an Associate Professor of Education, Director of the Evelyn Frieden Centre for Prescriptive Teaching, and Coordinator of Programs for Emotionally Disturbed Children at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He became widely known in 1969 upon the publication of '' The Peter Principle'' – co-authored by

Raymond Hull Raymond Hull (27 February 1919 – 7 June 1985) was an England-born Canadians, Canadian playwright, television screenwriter, and lecturer. He also wrote many non-fiction books, numerous magazine articles, short stories, and poetry. He is best kno ...

, also from Vancouver – in which he states: "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence... time every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties... Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence." The Peter principle became one of the most profound principles of management from USC; it is a heavily quoted principle at its Marshall School of Business. Another notable quotation of his is that the "noblest of all dogs is the

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

; it feeds the hand that bites it." From 1985 to his death in 1990, Peter attended and was involved in management of the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Humboldt County, California. He proposed an award for the race titled "The Golden Dinosaur Award", which has been handed out every year since to the first sculptural machine to utterly break down immediately after the start. At age 70, Peter died of complications from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Laurence J. 1919 births 1990 deaths University of Southern California faculty Writers from Vancouver Washington State University alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American educators