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Dilbert #37
How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You?
For more than 20 years, Scott Adams's Dilbert has chronicled the problem-filled work world of pointless projects, questionable employment practices, and interoffice politics that eerily resemble our own 9-to-5 cubicle existence.
In How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You?, Adams takes on the challenges of Elbonian sensitivity training, employee satisfaction surveys, confusopoly consultants, and more inside this new Dilbert book.
If you agree that every indeterminable project has to have at least one WDG (Worthless Dumb Guy), or are subjected to results-free sensitivity training, questionable employee surveys, and freelance consultants that seem to offer little more than exorbitant invoices, then chances are you find the corporate cubicle culture philosophy represented inside How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You? alive and well inside your own work environment--and that's exactly what makes Dilbert one of the most successful and popular comic strips of all time.
From Dogbert's invention of a beheading app to Dilbert's PowerPoint presentation that proves two monkeys could lead better than current management, How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You? chronicles corporate cubicle culture questionable training seminars and employee satisfaction surveys, along with made-up consultancies one Dilbert strip at a time.
In How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You?, Adams takes on the challenges of Elbonian sensitivity training, employee satisfaction surveys, confusopoly consultants, and more inside this new Dilbert book.
If you agree that every indeterminable project has to have at least one WDG (Worthless Dumb Guy), or are subjected to results-free sensitivity training, questionable employee surveys, and freelance consultants that seem to offer little more than exorbitant invoices, then chances are you find the corporate cubicle culture philosophy represented inside How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You? alive and well inside your own work environment--and that's exactly what makes Dilbert one of the most successful and popular comic strips of all time.
From Dogbert's invention of a beheading app to Dilbert's PowerPoint presentation that proves two monkeys could lead better than current management, How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You? chronicles corporate cubicle culture questionable training seminars and employee satisfaction surveys, along with made-up consultancies one Dilbert strip at a time.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 29, 2011
About the author
Scott Adams
193 books1,315 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.
Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 29, 2018
The author gets corporate culture all too well.
Alice is my fave.
Alice is my fave.
October 15, 2017
What I expect from Dilbert.
November 8, 2018
It's Dilbert. No more, no less. So clearly, it's superbly funny in a depressing sort of way.
January 20, 2020
What amused me in this collection was Alice and Dilbert going through Pon Farr together.
September 20, 2022
More Dilbert amusement. Always fun.
January 9, 2023
Extremely funny as usual!
May 17, 2023
I always rate Dilbert collections high, because I love how it feels like Scott Adams had some of my former workplaces bugged. Always good for a lot of hearty laughs.
January 11, 2025
Good humor
This was a book full of good humor. For those who have never experienced cubicle life or an office this is a good way to learn about it along with why it needs to end.
This was a book full of good humor. For those who have never experienced cubicle life or an office this is a good way to learn about it along with why it needs to end.
July 11, 2022
Another delightful look into the nondescript business that is Dilbert's workplace. This one focused on office culture, a lot of cubicle puns, which is always funny. It would be hard rating any of these under 4 stars since Dilbert comics are so consistently sardonic. I can feel Alice's rage and laugh at Wally's incompetence on the same page. Dilbert is so relatable. Scott Adams rules.
March 12, 2017
Always good for a laugh and some insight. A book from my childhood that I owned.
January 6, 2013
More of the same can be a good thing in some instances, and it is here, as Adams continues in his usual vein. Lots of outrageous puns, great non-sequitur humour. Several laugh out loud moments. Dilbert fans should be happy.
January 23, 2016
We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended
August 17, 2014
Standard Dilbert book.
January 4, 2012
Pretty great collection, but this is the first collection I read where Dilbert has a mouth when he shouts! My mind: blown.
February 4, 2016
Dilbert rides again! Another visit to the world of cubicles. This is office life at its most bizarre, and yet so true. Good read. This reminds me why I retired.
February 9, 2013
typical Dilbert snarkiness
July 27, 2013
Universal depiction of our office times...
June 26, 2012
It is so validating to see Dilbert live through all of the insane work practices we have to endure.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews