What do you think?
Rate this book
Dilbert #42
Go Add Value Someplace Else
He's the icon of millions of corporate workers, the most popular cubicle dweller on this planet. He spends his days in endless meetings with incompetent supervisors, performing perfunctory tasks mixed with the occasional team-building, brainstorming, or management fad-of-the-day session. He has entertained us for more than two decades: He's Dilbert.
Does Dilbert creator Scott Adams have a hidden camera in your office--or is he just completely in tune with the inept managers, wacky office politics, and nonsensical leadership practices that seem to run wild at your company?
Stop looking for the camera. Dilbert has become a hugely successful strip because Adams feels your pain. How? Because this former employee of a major telecommunications company has been there. He's seen the road to failure firsthand. And he knows that to successfully navigate the ludicrous world of business, you can't expect common sense to prevail, you need to keep a sense of humor, and above all, you must always be ready to blame the other guy.
The strip's enormous popularity stems from the fact that its millions of readers easily identify with the crazy plots and wacky characters found within the corporate environment. Sure, most companies don't have a bespectacled engineer with a tie permanently curled up, a cynical talking dog, and a manager with two pointy tufts of hair. But it's the outrageous things Dilbert characters do and say that leave readers knowingly nodding their heads and, of course, laughing uproariously. The antics of Dilbert's cast are based not only on Adams's own corporate experiences, but on the numerous e-mails he receives each day about the office dramas of his devoted fans.
Does Dilbert creator Scott Adams have a hidden camera in your office--or is he just completely in tune with the inept managers, wacky office politics, and nonsensical leadership practices that seem to run wild at your company?
Stop looking for the camera. Dilbert has become a hugely successful strip because Adams feels your pain. How? Because this former employee of a major telecommunications company has been there. He's seen the road to failure firsthand. And he knows that to successfully navigate the ludicrous world of business, you can't expect common sense to prevail, you need to keep a sense of humor, and above all, you must always be ready to blame the other guy.
The strip's enormous popularity stems from the fact that its millions of readers easily identify with the crazy plots and wacky characters found within the corporate environment. Sure, most companies don't have a bespectacled engineer with a tie permanently curled up, a cynical talking dog, and a manager with two pointy tufts of hair. But it's the outrageous things Dilbert characters do and say that leave readers knowingly nodding their heads and, of course, laughing uproariously. The antics of Dilbert's cast are based not only on Adams's own corporate experiences, but on the numerous e-mails he receives each day about the office dramas of his devoted fans.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2014
34 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Scott Adams
283 books1,267 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.
He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Adams has been hurt with a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing. He can fool his brain by drawing using a graphics tablet. On December 12, 2005, Adams announced on his blog that he also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. However, on October 24, 2006, he again blogged stating that he had recovered from this condition, although he is unsure if the recovery is permanent. He claims to have developed a method to work around the disorder and has been able to speak normally since. Also, on January 21, 2007, he posted a blog entry detailing his experiences with treatment by Dr. Morton Cooper.
Adams is also a trained hypnotist, as well as a vegetarian. (Mentioned in, "Dilbert: A Treasury of Sunday Strips 00).
He married Shelly Miles on July 22, 2006.
Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.
He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Adams has been hurt with a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing. He can fool his brain by drawing using a graphics tablet. On December 12, 2005, Adams announced on his blog that he also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. However, on October 24, 2006, he again blogged stating that he had recovered from this condition, although he is unsure if the recovery is permanent. He claims to have developed a method to work around the disorder and has been able to speak normally since. Also, on January 21, 2007, he posted a blog entry detailing his experiences with treatment by Dr. Morton Cooper.
Adams is also a trained hypnotist, as well as a vegetarian. (Mentioned in, "Dilbert: A Treasury of Sunday Strips 00).
He married Shelly Miles on July 22, 2006.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 28, 2015
Dilbert's still got it.
In our post-Google, post-Jobs, post-Bezos world, I would argue we need Dilbert more than ever.
A few of my favorites from this latest collection:
---I thought you said it went better than expected.
---It did. I go into every human encounter expecting to be framed for a crime I didn't commit.
---I heard you got booted off the management fast track.
---I fell asleep during the small animal snuff film and failed the sociopath module.
---That seems harsh.
---I offered to punch a squirrel but they don't allow extra credit.
---How'd you get the black eye?
---I was pulling up my blanket in bed. My hand slipped and I punched myself in the face.
---Okay. Let's make some billion-dollar technology decisions
---Our A-B tests show that orange buttons get 13% more clicks than green.
---I have now officially lost all faith in human intelligence.
---Stick with the green. It looks better.*
*So I guess now we know how this happened.
February 10, 2023
I’ve been a fan of Dilbert for several years now; I have a couple volumes at home and I loved the TV show. While reading “Go Add Value Someplace Else” I felt that the general Dilbert atmosphere was a bit off. Rather than being witty, reflective of real life, and hilarious I found that many of the comics appeared to be quick jabs at the Pointy Haired-Boss (PHB). There was a general cynicism that permeated the book and set-ups appeared more insulting than funny. This also is the most recent Dilbert book I have read with it being published in 2014. There was a section of about 30 pages in the middle of the book that I found to be rather funny, but I would recommend sticking to Adams’ other books.
Part of me wondered if Adams’ relatability has decreased with him not actually having a PHB for many years. And with one of the comics I immediately thought of him writing it about himself:
“[Dogbert says,] ‘I like a lot of things about being rich, but I like the income inequality the best. It makes me happy to know that my net worth is about a thousand times more than yours.’
[Dilbert replies,] ‘It’s actually closer to 800 times my net worth.’
[Dogbert shouts,] ‘You ruined it!!!’“ (p.163)
When I think about the comic in the context of corporation CEOs I think “yeah that is funny,” but then I think about how Adams’ estimated net worth is $50 million USD which is 1000x what most normal people have. It’s good for Adams for achieving the dream life, but it might be time that he takes a step away from representing the proletariat.
Part of me wondered if Adams’ relatability has decreased with him not actually having a PHB for many years. And with one of the comics I immediately thought of him writing it about himself:
“[Dogbert says,] ‘I like a lot of things about being rich, but I like the income inequality the best. It makes me happy to know that my net worth is about a thousand times more than yours.’
[Dilbert replies,] ‘It’s actually closer to 800 times my net worth.’
[Dogbert shouts,] ‘You ruined it!!!’“ (p.163)
When I think about the comic in the context of corporation CEOs I think “yeah that is funny,” but then I think about how Adams’ estimated net worth is $50 million USD which is 1000x what most normal people have. It’s good for Adams for achieving the dream life, but it might be time that he takes a step away from representing the proletariat.
August 3, 2017
This was my first Dilbert collection. I've read the strip a few times, mostly on cubical walls, but never sat down to focus on it. Like the movie Office Space, the comic strip Dilbert perfectly captures the mundanity and inanity of working in a technological office environment.
Not every strip is a home run. In fact, the funny gag rate is far below something like Pearls Before Swine. But the highlights are spectacular.
July 16, 2013.
February 2, 2014.
Dilbert has reached mass appeal for well deserved reasons, although I'm sure it's much funnier to those of us with office jobs.
Not every strip is a home run. In fact, the funny gag rate is far below something like Pearls Before Swine. But the highlights are spectacular.
July 16, 2013.
February 2, 2014.
Dilbert has reached mass appeal for well deserved reasons, although I'm sure it's much funnier to those of us with office jobs.
January 20, 2018
I don't know if it's because more of it hits close to home than before, or if it's a change in the comic itself, but this volume feels a lot more cynical and biting than before. It's all about power dynamics, with Dilbert and the employees getting the upper hand more often, but all seeming more depressed about it than anything else. There are still laughs to be had, and the occasional insightful moments, but there's a lot more filler of pointy haired boss (or his boss) being horrible and being called on it. I think the funniest thing in the book was the end where it mentions that businesses can get a volume discount on Dilbert books - really, would they want to?
March 16, 2015
Dilbert reaches collection 42, complete with a new hardcover and the same apathy beloved by millions.
Go Add Value Somewhere Else: A Dilbert Book Book Review on Popzara
Go Add Value Somewhere Else: A Dilbert Book Book Review on Popzara
November 30, 2014
His best volume in years, but it's needlessly expensive because the publisher switched to hardback.
Read
February 10, 2015I enjoy Dilbert's view of the world - becuase it seems Scott Adams follows me around at work - or has exceptional ESP and can read my thoughts :)
January 23, 2016
So real, that it hurts from time to time...
March 28, 2016
Hilarious! For anyone who needs a pick-me up at work.
February 24, 2017
In one word: hilarious. Can't get more witty, sarcastic. Scott Adams' Dilbert series is truly a legend.
September 14, 2018
Funny As Always
Addressing the content and the quality, this is yet another delightful collection of Dilbert cartoons. Adams keeps returning to the same well and manages to keep coming up with with gold. There aren't a lot of good cartoons that focus so well on the indignities foisted by management on the workplace, Norm Feuti's Retail being another. Dilbert, Wally, Asok, Alice and the Pointy Haired Boss are always good for a few reliable laughs and there are more than enough quips and insults to go around.
As for complaints about the extra cost that go with this being a hardcover, it's really not that expensive compared to the cost of a paperback. Its good quality threaded binding and strong bond paper makes it durable for library purchases and, in time for the holiday season, a solid "secret Santa gift" for the office party that won't look too cheap. No doubt for the truly stingy a paperback version will be released in the new year. :-)
Addressing the content and the quality, this is yet another delightful collection of Dilbert cartoons. Adams keeps returning to the same well and manages to keep coming up with with gold. There aren't a lot of good cartoons that focus so well on the indignities foisted by management on the workplace, Norm Feuti's Retail being another. Dilbert, Wally, Asok, Alice and the Pointy Haired Boss are always good for a few reliable laughs and there are more than enough quips and insults to go around.
As for complaints about the extra cost that go with this being a hardcover, it's really not that expensive compared to the cost of a paperback. Its good quality threaded binding and strong bond paper makes it durable for library purchases and, in time for the holiday season, a solid "secret Santa gift" for the office party that won't look too cheap. No doubt for the truly stingy a paperback version will be released in the new year. :-)
October 1, 2023
I read all the Dilbert collections & I thought this one was especially good. A lot of the collections have the same strips over and over, but this one didn’t have any that I remember from other books. These books always make me literally LOL.
July 31, 2019
Accurate and very funny
December 10, 2022
If you work in an office, you will appreciate this book. The themes are universal.
May 1, 2023
I’m a huge fan of Dilbert series and have read multiple books from it earlier. Somehow I felt that this book didn’t do justice to that series.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews