What Dilbert taught me about Management?

Eight years back, I was sitting in my office all depressed about a business meeting where I was trying to stop our SVP from investing in packaging a feature as a product and failing miserably...I saw this wonderful Dilbert clip that made me smile and get out of the funk...

Aesop reports to the Pointy-haired Boss that the company's strategy is driven by a typo:

Aesop: I discovered a typo in the market forecast that is driving our company strategy.
Aesop: Where it says, "Everyone would want one," it should have said, "Avery Wong would want one.
Aesop: Worse yet, I called Mr. Wong and he said he was joking.

Pointy-haired Boss: What if we gave him free delivery

1. I learnt my first lesson in Management 101 from the above clip - Sometimes even when you know it is the wrong call...let go !!!


2. Tell me what you need, and I will tell you how to get along without it -- Life in Product Management has been about resource, budget and time constraints and I did realize that once you learnt how to do without, you figured out how to deliver a quality service/product under cost, ahead of time and on scant resources.


3. Humility - Dilbert put it succintly - Accept that somedays you are the pigeon and on others the statue...dust off the crap and remember tomorrow is a new day...


4. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get - So one of the key lessons I have learnt as a part of my career learning is not to put up with crap.


5. Be realistic about your skills and ambitions, it is so true that...A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the ass.

Its true that I have grown with Dilbert...he has taken me through rough times in business and helped me find humor in every situation. I have learnt to laugh at my mistakes, grow and learn from them...What I have learnt from Dilbert is to be a -- Good Human Being with strong principles , humility and a whacky sense of humor!