The Dilbert Principle
The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adamsby Scott Adams
Shares rank 12 of 23 business books by recommenders
People recommend it as a funny, sharp take on corporate life and management, from the creator of the Dilbert comic. No caveat is raised by the quotes.
3 people recommended The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
2 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Scott Alexander: The Dilbert Afterlife”.
Summary written by Claude from 9 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 3 of those comments still count.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 2 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 2 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 2 of its 3 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 3 of the 3 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Funny, sharp corporate and management humor
“I just read the comic strips in the book and laughed”
Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Scott Alexander: The Dilbert Afterlife” Fans of Adams's books and comics
“the Dilbert Principle being one of my favorite books”
Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Scott Alexander: The Dilbert Afterlife”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 28 | 3 | 6 | 82% | 4 | — | — |
| The Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 24 | 5 | 5 | 83% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric Ries | 20 | 3 | 11 | 65% | 3 | — | — |
| The Goalby Eliyahu Goldratt | 13 | 0 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Dilbert Principleby Scott AdamsThis page | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen and Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.
What people said
All 3 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it's more useful, has more content and doesn't have this atrocious layout”
“I just read the comic strips in the book and laughed”
“the Dilbert Principle being one of my favorite books”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.