The PRINCIPLE

- A Cubicle’s Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions

Dilbert Principle: The most ineffective workers will be systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage – management.

With sharp eyes and sharp wit, took step to attack corporate culture in his lighthearted series of essays and Dilbert Strips by exposing the absurdities of everyday corporate life, delightfully lampooning incompetent bosses and poke fun at corporate bureaucracies, in the hilarious ‘Dilbert Principle’.

The Dilbert Principle offers a wise and wicked look at corporate America. It explores the zeitgeist of rampant management fads, management incompetence, bottomless bureaucracies, petrifying performance review, three-hour meetings, sadistic rule-makers, and much more, lavishly illustrated in his hilarious essays and Dilbert strips. Supported by readers’ email message with excruciating examples of corporate behavior, readers are compelled to agree with Adams when he insists that ‘People are idiots’.

Adams’ flair for understand the world of work from the end user perspective is undeniable. With just the right touch of sarcasm in his writing, his observations strike a chord with anyone who ever worked in an office, resonating their laugh in recognition while yelling “He’s right!”, however, it is sometimes too true to be funny.

Although the theme of this book is Corporate America, the same phenomenon applies to any business or organization anywhere else in the world. This is definitely a holy Bible for people with office experience. I also highly recommend this book for students, or any people preparing to enter the ‘office world’, for the success and happiness in their future careers.

Some funny excerpts from the Dilbert Principle:

Looking Busy

People with documents in their hands looks like they’re heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands looks like they’re heading for the cafeteria. People with newspapers in their hands looks like they’re heading for the bathroom.

The power of the media

You say: “Our company is skilled in many other things that are never reported by the biased media.” Media reports: “Our company killed mother Teresa’.

Creating a Market

Problems you create Market Opportunities Write bad software Sell Upgrades Build undependable products Sell Warranties

Attitude

‘A professional salesperson will avoid these negative phrases and use only positive- sounding words.’

Don’t say Do Say Old technology Backward Compatible Overpriced Premium Incompatible Proprietary

Shade the truth: by omitting important quantifiers

“I’ll call you when I know”……………………..that you are not here. “You’re next on my list”………………………...of things to ignore

Quotes from the book:

“I learned that people are mindless, irrational, easily manipulated dolts.… You make up your mind first and then you rationalize it second.” (p. 4)

- ‘Reality is not fun to read.’ (p.164) -