The value of sucking up

[Spongebob]

And when peters appear the company fails, unless the game is already rigged.

I haven't heard the Peter Principle referenced in years.  At the time it was a popular term/concept (seems like it was the 80's), I'm not sure it was making the case that a person promoted via the Peter Principle was a suck up.  I remember it being about a competent person being promoted to a level beyond their competency.  So if a person was a competent engineer and got promoted to manager, where he was still somewhat competent, then promoted to director, where he wasn't competent, then suddenly he didn't do so well.  I think it was all about finding your level of competency.

If you follow sports (football specifically), this concept can be seen regularly with the way coaches are promoted.  Most coaches start out as graduate assistants, then get a job as a running backs coach or offensive line coach, then on to OC or DC, and eventually to head coach, where a large proportion of them bomb and then drop back down a level.  This can all happen over a surprisingly short span of time.

Now, if a person is really good at sucking up, maybe all that still applies.  At some point there's no one left to suck up to and the suckup becomes the object of others who suck up.