About 25 years ago I invented “Clarke’s Law”, which is the opposite of the far better-known Peter Principle.
The Peter principle according to Wikipedia is this:
people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence".
The logic is:
- 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.
Clarke’s law states that:
Most employees get stuck in jobs that don’t use their full potential. And that sucks.
There’s a good bit of truth in both, no matter how cynical they sound.
Peter’s shell is too big.
Clarke’s shell is too small.
The sad thing?
In both situations, if we don't swap shells quickly, we end up trapped in our current shell.
Perhaps it’s pride.
Maybe it's mortgage payments.
More often than not, it's confidence.
Both situations whack our confidence and we start believing we could never find another job.
I've been there. I imagine you have too. It really sucks.
Hermit crabs don't have this problem.
When they realise their shell is too big - or too small - they go find a new shell.
Maybe you and I could learn from them?
Clarke