I got sent this great article by my friend Brian Martin today. Check it out:
A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, ‘Excuse me,can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don’t know where I am.’The woman below replied, ‘You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”You must be in Information Technology,’ said the balloonist.
’I am,’ replied the woman, ‘how did you know?
”Well,’ answered the balloonist, ‘everything you told me is probably technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information
and the fact is, I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.’
The woman below responded, ‘You must be in Management.”I am,’ replied the balloonist, ‘but how did you know?”Well,’ said the woman, ‘you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hotair. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my f***ing fault.’
Now that is funny.
Aaron Parkinson

November 13th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Yes the peter principle is still in corporate life. As a consultant I met many in corporate life and always asked myself how on earth did you get so high up and be utterly useless….I had to remind myself that if they were good I would not be there consulting and earning a decent amount of money!