Agile Leadership Book Club: The Peter Principle

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 14:26:00 +0000

In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence

You may recognise that quote from The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong, which I’ve just started reading thanks to Alexander and James, organizers of the Agile Leadership Book Club meetup.

The Peter Principle suggests the most skilled people get promoted - a factory floor mechanic into a supervisor role, then into management if they perform well there too. This continues until they’re no longer a top performer. On the surface it sounds reasonable. But the first chapter closes with:

The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:39:00 +0000

The fact that there’s a low probability that an AI will be able to do your job doesn’t change the fact that there’s a high probability that an AI salesman will convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can’t do your job.

Summer reading and I love this quote from Cory Doctorow’s book, The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI.

Bookclub on vellosa.com

Agile Leadership Book Club: The Peter Principle

The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI