7 ms·

Dilbert's creator says you shouldn't have a career plan

58 points by hansy 13y ago

plax512 13y ago
It's dangerous business for him to be saying stuff like this. I mean, are we all going to go out and be lucky enough to have a successful comic strip? No, it's a fluke. It worked for him, great, but shut up and take your success. Don't tell others what they should do.
- gress 13y ago
  Why is his opinion to be muzzled, rather than those who suggest having a career plan? How do we know a career plan is good advice for everyone?
  - plax512 13y ago
    nothing is perfect for every single person, which is what I'm saying
    - 6d0debc071 13y ago
      No advice is perfect for everyone, therefore never give advice? That'd be a pretty terrible idea. The question is how many people the advice would be useful to vs how many it would harm, and to what degree. Framing it otherwise just inflicts a massive loss of utility on all the people who would have benefited from it - i.e. you'd be choosing a world with more misery to live in.
  - was_hellbanned 13y ago
    Career plans are wonderful for those whose career goes according to plan. ;-)
- Nzen 13y ago
  Clearly a case of tl;dr. Adams did a bunch of foolish stuff before becoming successful. Most of it was in pursuit of goals like 'get rich quick' (via a patent). He recommends adopting a system of principles that allow for a more flexible focus. Don't tell others what they should do. eyeroll
  - plax512 13y ago
    what are you saying?
  - SimHacker 13y ago
    Foolish stuff like posing as his biggest fan on message boards to say how brilliant he is and how stupid everyone else is for not seeing that? "If an idiot and a genius disagree, the idiot generally thinks the genius is wrong. He also has lots of idiot reasons to back his idiot belief. That's how the idiot mind is wired. It's fair to say you disagree with Adams. But you can't rule out the hypothesis that you're too dumb to understand what he's saying. And he's a certified genius. Just sayin'." Foolish stuff like saying things like "Women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It’s just easier this way for everyone"? Should I go on? I could go on and on and on, quoting him making a total douchbag of himself. He never stops, he just keeps digging deeper.
    - chris_wot 13y ago
      I could go on and on and on And you do!
- krstck 13y ago
  The title is sensationalist. The point is that even the best laid plans require an element of luck, so it's better to develop systems of successful habits rather than attaching your hopes and dreams towards a specific "goal". He's not talking about how you, too, can be a comic book artist, he's saying that you need to learn as many useful skills as you can. In his book he devoted considerable time to detailing just how serendipitous the success of Dilbert was. I enjoyed it.
y0ink 13y ago
"Fat doesn't make you fat." Mr. Adams has seen the light.
iwaffles 13y ago
"Starting a business that fails makes the comic better."
mikeash 13y ago
Why do we care what Scott Adams says about any topic other than creating a successful and amusing comic strip?
- ACow_Adonis 13y ago
  I'm guessing because of the correlation between comedians/humourists and intelligence/accurate observation. Plus generally just being open curious human beings. I don't think we should generally take carte-blanch the advice of anyone. There's even grounds for not listening to those who are rich/wealthy/successful businesses when trying to analyse their own condition. There's an ego element there which means they'll want to apportion success to themselves relative to luck/chance/birth/others, and they're hardly going to come out and say "you know what, it was all a fluke" or "I ripped off bob/society..go me!". Most of us humans are all too good at ascribing to large amounts of randomness some element in an attempt to explain outcomes post-fact. I'll listen to Mr Adams. He seems to nail a lot of other things on the head.
- ryan33 13y ago
  His point is to not have an overly specific plan, rather have a system where you are constantly learning things and meeting people that will be helpful to you in the future. He's also a former computer programmer and has a startup for easily sharing schedules among groups. His interview on Tavis Smiley's show was awesome- http://video.pbs.org/video/2365115829/ http://video.pbs.org/video/2365115829/
  - SimHacker 13y ago
    Are you another one of Scott Adam's sock puppets? http://jezebel.com/5792583/dilbert-creator-pretends-to-be-his-own-biggest-fan-on-message-boards http://jezebel.com/5792583/dilbert-creator-pretends-to-be-hi...
    - ryan33 13y ago
      I was not aware of all the controversy. I just happen to watch PBS. But I've come to realize that I shouldn't lead with the potential worst aspects of people. Or qualify everyone I like with "but I don't agree with X". It's burdensome.
JamesArgo 13y ago
Selection effects, the bane of almost all dreamers.
theg2 13y ago
I love my job. It's interesting, difficult at times for various reasons, pays well enough that I can live a good life, and has ideals that I can agree with. People always looking for the next larger paycheck bother me sometimes and I think that's at the core of what Scott Adams is saying. Too many times we get caught up in our jobs because its something we feel we should do or because it pays more and more money but loving what you do is the real meaning behind his message.
- klochner 13y ago
  I understand your sentiment, but you misinterpreted this example - he meant that the job-hopper was smart in having a system (continually get a better job) rather than a specific goal (get XX job). Despite having landed a job with high satisfaction, Scott Adams is highly pragmatic and ambitious.
- marcosdumay 13y ago
  > but loving what you do is the real meaning behind his message. And his second advice is "Passion is bullshit" (and no, you won't get what he meant just from the title, again). Maybe you should read the article.
  - theg2 13y ago
    Sorry for the late reply but you either mis-understood what I wrote or what Adams wrote. He's saying that people often sit in a job waiting to be inspired or suddenly become passionate about it. You seem to be implying that idealism is a mistake and a poor reason for staying at job.
ChristianMarks 13y ago
Agreed that "passion is bullsh*t." Talk of passion suggests one can articulate motivations that are largely beyond human control and understanding as if one had control over them. "Passion" in this sense is ersatz. More than this: the assumption seems to me that one is willing to openly discuss what I would consider intimate aspects of one's internal life with strangers. This is game-theoretically weak. I say instead that I don't experience "passions" as such, which strike me as mercurial. Instead, I find myself driven. Driven by forces largely beyond my control, by biophysical processes that I do not comprehend.
SkyMarshal 13y ago
Best one-sentence advice I've seen on this topic was here on HN: Don't try to micromanage your career, just focus on doing whatever has the most impact, and your career will take care of itself.
copiga 13y ago
heres mine: finish college get job pay taxes work until i can afford a van, petrol, food, passport and visas get van travel world die of course only two of these are certain...

58 points by hansy 13y ago

It's dangerous business for him to be saying stuff like this. I mean, are we all going to go out and be lucky enough to have a successful comic strip? No, it's a fluke. It worked for him, great, but shut up and take your success. Don't tell others what they should do.

gress 13y ago
Why is his opinion to be muzzled, rather than those who suggest having a career plan? How do we know a career plan is good advice for everyone?
- plax512 13y ago
  nothing is perfect for every single person, which is what I'm saying
  - 6d0debc071 13y ago
    No advice is perfect for everyone, therefore never give advice? That'd be a pretty terrible idea. The question is how many people the advice would be useful to vs how many it would harm, and to what degree. Framing it otherwise just inflicts a massive loss of utility on all the people who would have benefited from it - i.e. you'd be choosing a world with more misery to live in.
- was_hellbanned 13y ago
  Career plans are wonderful for those whose career goes according to plan. ;-)
Nzen 13y ago
Clearly a case of tl;dr. Adams did a bunch of foolish stuff before becoming successful. Most of it was in pursuit of goals like 'get rich quick' (via a patent). He recommends adopting a system of principles that allow for a more flexible focus. Don't tell others what they should do. eyeroll
- plax512 13y ago
  what are you saying?
- SimHacker 13y ago
  Foolish stuff like posing as his biggest fan on message boards to say how brilliant he is and how stupid everyone else is for not seeing that? "If an idiot and a genius disagree, the idiot generally thinks the genius is wrong. He also has lots of idiot reasons to back his idiot belief. That's how the idiot mind is wired. It's fair to say you disagree with Adams. But you can't rule out the hypothesis that you're too dumb to understand what he's saying. And he's a certified genius. Just sayin'." Foolish stuff like saying things like "Women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It’s just easier this way for everyone"? Should I go on? I could go on and on and on, quoting him making a total douchbag of himself. He never stops, he just keeps digging deeper.
  - chris_wot 13y ago
    I could go on and on and on And you do!
krstck 13y ago
The title is sensationalist. The point is that even the best laid plans require an element of luck, so it's better to develop systems of successful habits rather than attaching your hopes and dreams towards a specific "goal". He's not talking about how you, too, can be a comic book artist, he's saying that you need to learn as many useful skills as you can. In his book he devoted considerable time to detailing just how serendipitous the success of Dilbert was. I enjoyed it.

y0ink 13y ago

"Fat doesn't make you fat." Mr. Adams has seen the light.

iwaffles 13y ago

"Starting a business that fails makes the comic better."

mikeash 13y ago

Why do we care what Scott Adams says about any topic other than creating a successful and amusing comic strip?

ACow_Adonis 13y ago
I'm guessing because of the correlation between comedians/humourists and intelligence/accurate observation. Plus generally just being open curious human beings. I don't think we should generally take carte-blanch the advice of anyone. There's even grounds for not listening to those who are rich/wealthy/successful businesses when trying to analyse their own condition. There's an ego element there which means they'll want to apportion success to themselves relative to luck/chance/birth/others, and they're hardly going to come out and say "you know what, it was all a fluke" or "I ripped off bob/society..go me!". Most of us humans are all too good at ascribing to large amounts of randomness some element in an attempt to explain outcomes post-fact. I'll listen to Mr Adams. He seems to nail a lot of other things on the head.
ryan33 13y ago
His point is to not have an overly specific plan, rather have a system where you are constantly learning things and meeting people that will be helpful to you in the future. He's also a former computer programmer and has a startup for easily sharing schedules among groups. His interview on Tavis Smiley's show was awesome- http://video.pbs.org/video/2365115829/ http://video.pbs.org/video/2365115829/
- SimHacker 13y ago
  Are you another one of Scott Adam's sock puppets? http://jezebel.com/5792583/dilbert-creator-pretends-to-be-his-own-biggest-fan-on-message-boards http://jezebel.com/5792583/dilbert-creator-pretends-to-be-hi...
  - ryan33 13y ago
    I was not aware of all the controversy. I just happen to watch PBS. But I've come to realize that I shouldn't lead with the potential worst aspects of people. Or qualify everyone I like with "but I don't agree with X". It's burdensome.

JamesArgo 13y ago

Selection effects, the bane of almost all dreamers.

theg2 13y ago

I love my job. It's interesting, difficult at times for various reasons, pays well enough that I can live a good life, and has ideals that I can agree with. People always looking for the next larger paycheck bother me sometimes and I think that's at the core of what Scott Adams is saying. Too many times we get caught up in our jobs because its something we feel we should do or because it pays more and more money but loving what you do is the real meaning behind his message.

klochner 13y ago
I understand your sentiment, but you misinterpreted this example - he meant that the job-hopper was smart in having a system (continually get a better job) rather than a specific goal (get XX job). Despite having landed a job with high satisfaction, Scott Adams is highly pragmatic and ambitious.
marcosdumay 13y ago
> but loving what you do is the real meaning behind his message. And his second advice is "Passion is bullshit" (and no, you won't get what he meant just from the title, again). Maybe you should read the article.
- theg2 13y ago
  Sorry for the late reply but you either mis-understood what I wrote or what Adams wrote. He's saying that people often sit in a job waiting to be inspired or suddenly become passionate about it. You seem to be implying that idealism is a mistake and a poor reason for staying at job.

ChristianMarks 13y ago

Agreed that "passion is bullsh*t." Talk of passion suggests one can articulate motivations that are largely beyond human control and understanding as if one had control over them. "Passion" in this sense is ersatz. More than this: the assumption seems to me that one is willing to openly discuss what I would consider intimate aspects of one's internal life with strangers. This is game-theoretically weak. I say instead that I don't experience "passions" as such, which strike me as mercurial. Instead, I find myself driven. Driven by forces largely beyond my control, by biophysical processes that I do not comprehend.

SkyMarshal 13y ago

Best one-sentence advice I've seen on this topic was here on HN: Don't try to micromanage your career, just focus on doing whatever has the most impact, and your career will take care of itself.

copiga 13y ago

heres mine: finish college get job pay taxes work until i can afford a van, petrol, food, passport and visas get van travel world die of course only two of these are certain...