About this episode
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change. SOURCES: Nick Bloom , professor of economics at Stanford University. Katie Johnson , freelance data and analytics coach. Kelly Shue , professor of finance at the Yale University School of Management. Steve Tadelis , professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. RESOURCES: “ People Management Skills, Employee Attrition, and Manager Rewards: An Empirical Analysis ,” by Mitchell Hoffman and Steven Tadelis ( Journal of Political Economy, 2021). “ Promotions and the Peter Principle ,” by Alan Benson, Danielle Li, and Kelly Shue ( The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2019). “ Bosses Matter: The Effects of Managers on Workers’ Performance ,” by Kathryn L. Shaw (IZA World of Labor, 2019). “ The Value of Bosses ,” by Edward P. Lazear, Kathryn L. Shaw, and Christopher T. Stanton ( Journal of Labor Economics, 2015). The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong , by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull (1969). EXTRAS: “ The Secret Life of C.E.O.s ” series by Freakonomics Radio. “ What Does a C.E.O. Actually Do? ” by Freakonomics Radio (2018). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.