In BABLBSOS, Scott Adams covers his by now familiar territory of the world of American high tech business for the very first time. BABLBSOS is not a rehash of the daily Dilbert strip like so many other collections of Adams'. Rather, BABLBSOS is original material organized by topics, which collectively cover all major aspects of the workplace experience in a high tech company. Since Adams is exploring this material for the first time, and is not doing it in a daily comic strip form, the results are more hard-hitting and concise than Adams' subsequent books. Each page stands on its own and showcases in the best possible way Adams' brilliantly cynical understanding of how businesses all too often really function.

But BABLBSOS is more than just Scott Adams' best work. It also is one of the best business books and management guides ever created, and certainly the pithiest. All too many business books present prescriptions for how businesses should operate. BABLBSOS is the opposite: an "anti-business" book that shows how businesses actually behave, from the perspective of the employees. The challenge and guidance for managers, then, is to do the opposite of the pointy-haired boss, to avoid the situations that Adams presents.

After I originally read BABLBSOS, I recommended it to everyone I knew who would appreciate it (which is almost anyone who works for a living in a corporation), and used many of the panels in various presentations. I still keep a copy handy in my office for reference. So, as you can see, I cannot recommend BABLBSOS highly enough.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Dogbert has useful tips for everyday situations.  Feb 19, 1998

This book is practical, humorous, and has big, simple cartoon pictures so it's easy to understand. Dogbert gives useful insights on everyday situations such as coffee intake, boss classifications, and hallway greetings. A must read!

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Perhaps the most insightful book about what really happens in the corporate workplace  May 04, 2010
By Ursiform
Before the boss's hair went pointy, before dinosaurs roamed the strip, before Dogbert became master of the universe, there was Build a Better Life by Stealing Office Supplies. From what your clothes say about you ("I hope you'll ignore the stuff that comes out of my mouth"), to change ("You will appear to be a visionary planner if you decentralize everything which is centralized and centralize everything which is decentralized"), to excuses for being late ("Just remember that your excuse must be more dramatic than those who arrive before you"), this book is fall-out-of-your-chair funny while at the same time being spot-on in describing the surreality of the modern corporate environment. Each page is a Dilbert strip, but written for this book. Together they cover pretty much everything you need to know about how business really operates. The final two pages, "When to change jobs" and "Keeping your perspective" do, penultimately and ultimately, put it all in, well, perspective.

5 of 7 found the following review helpful:

A book about business through the eyes of Dilbert  Jul 13, 1997

There are many book about business etiquette. Many of them talk about all sorts of obscure manners and what to do in the strangest of situations. But this one actually talks about situations that you get into every day, such as hallway etiquette and mettings. But the best part about it is that it is fun to read. Other books have pages and pages of text that talk endlessly like a moron in the hallway. With this book, every page have something funny about it

For the Most Part, Spot On  Aug 03, 2011
By Ana Mardoll
Build a Better Life by Stealing Office Supplies / 0836217578

Recently I started re-reading my Dilbert collections; this is the second collection of unique strips by my count, but they're not precisely Dilbert strips in the traditional sense: each page is a single 4-panel strip where the first panel is Dogbert explaining a rule of business.

The strips are very funny and actually sadly seem quite a "spot on" reflection, even dated as this volume is. I do wish that there was less of a reliance on female stereotypes in some of the pieces -- there's at least two strips that indicate that nicely dressed women are either likely having affairs with upper management or hoping to skate by on sex appeal. Adams can be funnier than that and doesn't need to resort to these stereotypes; fortunately these strips are two out of ~100 and the rest of the book is very funny and fun. (And his later collections have moved away from these "jokes" entirely, I believe.)

~ Ana Mardoll

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