Peter Principle in action. In each case, the higher position required skills that were not required at the level immediately below. For example, a competent school teacher may make a competent assistant principal, but then go on to be an incompetent principal. The teacher was competent at educating children, and as assistant principal, he was good at dealing with parents and other teachers, but as principal, he was poor at maintaining good relations with the school board and the superintendent. In chapter 3, Peter and Hull discuss apparent exceptions to this principle and then debunk them. One of these illusory exceptions is when someone who is incompetent is still promoted anyway—they coin the phrase "percussive sublimation" for this phenomenon of being "kicked upstairs" (cf. Dilbert principle). However, it is only a pseudo-promotion: a move from one unproductive position to another. This improves staff morale, as other employees believe that they too can be promoted again. Another pseudo-promotion is the "lateral arabesque:" when a person is moved out of the way and given a longer job title. While incompetence is merely a barrier to further promotion, "super-incompetence" is grounds for dismissal, as is "super-competence." In both cases, "they tend to disrupt the hierarchy." One specific example of a super-competent employee is a teacher of children with special needs: he was so effective at educating the children that, after a year, they exceeded all expectations at reading and arithmetic, but the teacher was still fired because he had neglected to devote enough time to bead-stringing and finger-painting. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with the two methods of achieving promotion: "Push" and "Pull." 'Push' refers to the employee's own efforts, such as working hard and taking courses for self-improvement. This is usually not very effective due to the Seniority Factor: the next level up is often fully occupied, blocking the path to promotion. 'Pull', on the other hand, is far more effective and refers to accelerated promotion brought about by the efforts of an employee's mentors or patrons. Chapter 6 explains why "good followers do not become good leaders." In chapter 7, Peter and Hull describe the effect of the Peter Principle in politics and government. Chapter 8, titled "Hints and Foreshadowings", discusses the work of earlier writers on the subject of incompetence, such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Alexander Pope. Chapter 9 explains that, once employees have reached their level of