The Dilbert World

Does the world that Scott Adams shows in Dilbert resonate with you? I considered this as I read these thoughts in a leadership post. Why is this so funny?

I've spent over 20 years dong information technology jobs. I've done support, training, lots of administration, project management, just about everything there is. I've worked in large and smaller IT environments. Before that, I worked in other departments. All resembled some elements found in Dilbert. When I took one of my management courses, a Dilbert cartoon started each class. We've all seen situations like the ones Scott Adams depicts. We can relate and know the situations are ridiculous. This is one reason it is funny.

Any time process replaces people, you see situations like Dilbert highlights. I watched "Guarding Tess" the other day. At the end, when she leaves the hospital, she must be in the wheelchair. Why? It is policy. Of course, it usually makes sense that someone leaving the hospital be careful, but not everyone needs to be in a wheelchair. However, it is policy. Bureaucracies replace judgement with policy. Zero tolerance policies are a good example. Most of us realize that children punished in these situations are often punished wrongly, but policy is followed. Are we better for it?

Are we safer because a child is expelled for bringing a toy to school? Are our children safer because a child is expelled for taking their medication? There is more gun violence in schools than ever before in history and we've certainly not won the war on drugs. We no longer teach people to exercise judgement, we teach them to follow a policy. Since there are no exceptions, they become ridiculous. Scott Adams could move from the world of business to any other setting that requires we follow policy mindlessly and document more of the ridiculous situations he satirizes.

What can we as individuals do to combat the Dilbert world? Think. Ponder. Don't accept. This is a form of radicalism, isn't it? Many people are afraid to think for themselves. The holderkin people that Mercedes Lackey shows in her novel, Arrow's of the Queen, have women that would be unable to think for themselves. It isn't allowed. Talia finds it novel that she will now have to think for herself and determine her own direction. Many of us have given away our right to decide, to think, and set a direction for ourselves. We've wandered into our current situation and just continue to wander. Socrates told us that the unexamined life is not worth living. Many of us live the unexamined life because it is just easier.

It is easier to let our parents choose what we will do with our lives. Or, our first job determines what we will do. We do not decide in advance. We cannot select a major in college, so it takes 5 or more years to get a degree to do what? Well, we're not sure, so we drift.

If our lives were examined, if we had made active, instead of passive choices, what would our lives look like? If more of us did this, our lives would, in general, look less like Dilbert. What if more of us were living mindfully, like the Little Homestead in the City? Would we not be using our resources more wisely, and would our lives not be richer in the important things?

I have tried to apply these thoughts over the years, with greater and lesser degrees of success. As my husband and I recently spent some time examining our lives, we made some changes. The world would consider them to be misguided changes as they decrease our income. However, they will increase our quality of life, and that is far more important than income. We continue to make mindful changes to simplify and enhance our lives. This is the challenge of the Dilbert world.