The Peterless Principle

You are probably familiar with The Peter Principle.  It states that, in a hierarchy, you will eventually be promoted to your level of incompetence.  The corollary to The Peter Principle is The Peterless Principle, which states this:  Once you’ve reached your level of incompetence, you then face a choice:

Option 1:     Surround yourself with loyal and even less competent sycophants who reassure you of your relative competence every day;

Option 2:     Have the courage to rely on genuine experts whose accomplishments on your behalf would actually make you not only competent but top-notch for having the wisdom to rely on their expertise.

Obviously, we hope that you would choose Option 2.  So do your staff and students.