Priceless Dilbert Principle: Change, budgeting, ISO 9000 and other Fads

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I first posted about Dilbert around 1.5 year back @ http://goo.gl/mHVKP on my blog.  Time flied like a Phantom Fart ,no one knew where it came from but left a smell which fades away slowly. I wrote it  back in college where I pulled out the innocent looking book from library shelve with title The Joy of Work: Dilbert’s Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-Workers and now I am trying to write about my thoughts on his other book  The Dilbert Principle. Wait before going further let me try to explain why I respect Dilbert. I have quoted 2 snippets from the book below:-

Somewhere between the hallucinations of senior management and the cold reality of the market lies something called a business plan. There are two major steps to building a business plan:-

  1. Gather Information
  2. Ignore It
Total work equation

Real Work+ Appearance of Work=Total Work

Bruuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

The simplicity in which Scott Adams, author of Dilbert stitches stupidities of workplace which is totally opposite to Phillip Kotler being taught at business schools makes me like it. I often wonder why people shudder to accept them in open when they are the part of circus just like Dogbert, Dilbert, Catbert and Bob The Dinosaur( Google these terms to see their image). Book is compact and designed in such a shape that you can place it between two slices of bread, top up with Mayonnaise and Garlic Sauce and munch it with a cup of tea. (Burrrrrrrrrrrp ) 

It starts with a perennial question why business is so Absurd and takes you through hilarious story which people face daily while playing office office. Be it the Great lies of management like “Employees are our most valuable assets” , concept of “Stupid Rich” in market segmentation and avoiding Smart Rich,  Author has redefined various fad management concepts including  Product differentiation and it sure makes your eyes tinkle and you will giggle for a second. Over 300 pages you will find amazing methods to survive in the Jungle. 

In the end I was amazed that Author has given the insight to build a dream workplace with good management called OA5 model which is contrarian to his positioning as satirist. Also it touches ways to increase your CTC as mentioned in my previous post @ http://goo.gl/v1N3d and reaffirms the belief. 
 
This post is dedicated to Texas Tohanna, Parteek  Jain(https://twitter.com/#!/parteekjain)Jain who is soon going to meet a new Dogbert and ITC Sensation Rahul Gupta (https://twitter.com/#!/rahul89gupta).

My rating 9/10.

I will finish up with snippet from page 95. The office is designed for work not “productivity”. Work can be defined as anything you’d rather not be doing. Productivity is a different matter. Telecommuting substitutes two hours of productivity for ten hours of work. 

What are your Dilbert Moments. I am sure you must have many. Please share them by commenting on post.
Stay Young. Stay Raw

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