“Good followers do not become good leaders. To be sure, the good follower may win many promotions, but that does not make him a leader. Most hierarchies are nowadays so cumbered with rules and traditions, and so bound in by public laws, that even high employees do not have to lead anyone anywhere, in the sense of pointing out the direction and setting the pace. They simply follow precedents, obey regulations, and move at the head of the crowd. Such employees lead only in the sense that the carved wooden figurehead leads the ship. It is easy to see how, in such a milieu, the advent of a genuine leader will be feared and resented. This is called Hypercaninophobia (top‐dog fear) or more correctly by advanced hierarchiologists the Hypercaninophobia Complex (fear that the underdog may become the top dog).”

Laurence J. Peter & Raymond Hull (1969) The Peter Principle. New York: William Morrow & Company Inc.

In dead pan humour, the author tells why the world is so screwed up, why humans fail, and how to achieve a state of well-being, avoiding the ultimate promotion.