Random Acts of Management

Dilbert #15

by Scott Adams

In Random Acts of Management, cartoonist Scott Adams offers sardonic glimpses once again into the lunatic office life of Dilbert, Dogbert, Wally, and others, as they work in an all-too-believably ludicrous setting filled with incompetent management, incomprehensible project acronyms, and minuscule raises. Everyone, it seems, identifies with Dilbert, who struggles to navigate the constant tribulations of absurd company policies and idiot management strategies.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Comic Strips, Business, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cartoon

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Don’t See Any Randomness.

I know that the management is supposed to be random, but I don’t see it. If anything, the chaos all seems planned and rehearsed for the impact.

But the comic is hilarious and I love the book dearly. Not all the characters, though.

I hate the pointy-headed boss, and Dilbert and his friends, or should I say his co-workers. Also, Dogbert and Catbert, I despise. And the secretary and the secretary of the secretary.

Also, I hate the ex-girlfriend of Dilbert, including his new girlfriend and his future girlfriend. I hate ‘em all.

But I love this book. I loved reading the whole thing. And just read it yourself to see what I mean.

Four stars! ✨✨✨✨

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 5 out of 5]

PHB: "Before I eat a sandwich, I always remove the useless edges of the bread. That tells you what kind of manager I am."
Asok (the Intern): "You're the Anti-Crust?"

Possessed Pointy-Haired Boss: "YOUR MOTHER IMPLEMENTS MULTI-VENDOR PROCESSES WITHOUT SYNERGY!!"

[Cesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun. Although some of the jokes goes way, way over my head. But that's part of this comics charm. On the whole, I really enjoyed reading this one.

[Remo · Rating 2 out of 5]

El universo Dilbert, que tantas tiras interesantes tiene, pierde un poco cuando empiezas a verlas todas juntas. El título no te ayuda a saber de qué época es el libro, dada la enorme lista de libros publicados, pero son todos tan parecidos que creo que no importa leerlos en desorden. El hecho de que el autor sea un perfecto capullo tampoco ayuda a cogerle aprecio al personaje, aunque no debería ser así, lo reconozco.
El caso es que hay muchas tiras divertidas, pero otras muchas son golpes bajos y frases hechas que, sinceramente, quitan las ganas de apuntarse al resto de la colección.
Compré dos a un euro, y acabaré el otro, pero no creo que Dilbert vaya a ser uno de mis referentes de humor...

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wondered what is the management thinking...
Tired of annual reorgs?
You might just find the answer here..
But in my opinion, this book is not as funny as the others.

[Jon Hewelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't get Dilbert as a kid. Now, I mostly don't get Dilbert. Maybe it's a different kind of office from the one I've experienced. I've also seen The Office, which has a lot of heart, and Dilbert definitely doesn't.

Like, it's a newspaper comic, and those aren't necessarily known for being "deep". But I've seen comics with some stellar character development, and it makes Dilbert--a strip that seems opportune for fleshing out work relationships--seem lame by comparison. Mostly, it's an endless stream of "work is hell, your boss is insane, your job is meaningless, bureaucratic red tape is funny". Dilbert is at its best in the weekly story times where, ya know, stuff happens. Otherwise, it's just...mundane. Which is the point, maybe?

Also, Dilbert's a certifiable creep and watches a woman sleep. Just...Scott Adams is a strange man.

[SKP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always suspected Scott Adams had the office that I used to work at bugged. There are a lot of similarities between Dilbert’s office and that one I worked at in the 1990’s. I always enjoy reading Dilbert books and this one was no exception. There might be a certain number of the comic strip that I don’t “get”, but there is a lot that I not only get, but have experienced in some form or another.

[Jess Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, sadly this is my manager

I was really enjoying this book until I hit one section and I realized this is my life. The way management worked and the co-workers. It's sad when reading a comic book and you realize it’s the company you work for. Now you’re putting your manager's head in the strips along with your co-workers. The author was using the exact same words my management team was using on us. How did he do it?

[Ian Higgs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Adams does it again

There really are some classic punchlines in this book and I encourage everyone experiencing some sort of office life to enjoy the content and irreverent reality.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Business related.

Good black and white strips that are easily mounted on cubicle walls. Recently some idiots have objected to this humor because our education system is at a 50 year low.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott Adams is misogynistic & insane. He's gotten worse as time goes on & certainly you can see the warning signs in some of his earlier comics. Not sure if I could read his current content, but the old stuff is entertaining enough.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review

Great little book, fun to read and reflect about. A caricature on real life situations which are too good to be true.

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Adams has got the management world truly pegged. 😂

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me away. Funny, real.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!!

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kokoelma vanhoja 90-luvun Dilbertejä. Aika hyvin on kestänyt aikaa, vaikka tietenkin jotkut stripit eivät tänä päivänä enää toimisi.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential guide to business management.

[Michael Peeples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic stuff here. Dilbert is accurate and funny.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Talk about accuracy.

[Mark A.]

""

[STU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Dilbert.
Catbert appears a lot in this.
Alice, Asok and Wally also get a lot.

[Duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dilbert! It amazes me how Scott Adams finds the truth behind all those assinine decisions that corporate America seems to make each and every day! You'll love seeing Dilbert try to survive daily work when his co-workers seem to plot against him and management seems to be completely lost. A great read for anyone who enjoys work related humor.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

He may not be an engineer like Dilbert and the others, but Pointy-Haired Boss knows a thing or two about hitting goals...as long as it doesn't involve too much work on his part...and means his checks remains in the triple digits...Adams will have fans smiling the whole way through in another short but sweet collection of comics. Surely there's some sort of thought process to this madness...right?

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

the boss is really random

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Adams is great! Every 4 or 5 pages you'll find your self saying, "this is EXACTLY what is happing at my job. How did he know?"

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Management topics to me make the best dilbert strips. So, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Lots of catbert.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silliness.

[Tom M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

gain 1 ct from Stonehenge, found city at L6, adopt pacifism, gain 1 ct from pacifism, learn Horseback with rationalism

[Hai Vu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny, but it gets old after a while