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==Definition== In the ''Dilbert'' comic strip of February 5, 1995, [[Dogbert]] says that "leadership is nature's way of removing morons from the productive flow". Adams himself explained,<ref>{{cite news|title=Funny Business |url=http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/bized/p16-21.pdf |newspaper=BizEd |date=November–December 2002 |accessdate=April 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206065944/http://aacsb.edu/publications/bized/p16-21.pdf |archivedate=February 6, 2009 }}</ref> <blockquote> I wrote ''The Dilbert Principle'' around the concept that in many cases the least competent, least smart people are promoted, simply because they’re the ones you don't want doing actual work. You want them ordering the doughnuts and yelling at people for not doing their assignments—you know, the easy work. Your heart surgeons and your computer programmers—your smart people—aren't in management. That principle was literally happening everywhere. </blockquote> Adams explained the principle in a 1995 ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' article.<ref>Adams, Scott. "Manager's journal: The Dilbert principle." ''Wall Street Journal'' [New York, N.Y.] 22 May 1995, Eastern edition: A12. ''Wall Street Journal''.</ref> Adams then elaborated his study of the Dilbert principle in his 1996 book ''The Dilbert Principle'', which is required or recommended reading at some management and [[Master of Business Administration|business programs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mot.berkeley.edu/Berkeley_Students/Students/Courses/Course_Descriptions/proj_mgmt_syll.pdf |title=Project Management Case Studies |work=Haas School of Business |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |date=2003 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313051719/http://mot.berkeley.edu/Berkeley_Students/Students/Courses/Course_Descriptions/proj_mgmt_syll.pdf |archivedate=March 13, 2012 |accessdate=October 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~hendrixs/classes/readings.html |title=Readings for CSCI 3308 - Software Engineering Methods and Tools |publisher=University of Colorado Boulder |date=March 16, 2001 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922194230/http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~hendrixs/classes/readings.html |archivedate=September 22, 2006 |accessdate=October 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/holt/em501/em501.htm |title=Syllabus - SW Project Mgt - CSE5315 - 1998 |accessdate=2010-02-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030220024018/http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/holt/em501/em501.htm |archivedate=February 20, 2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/holt/em501/em501.htm |title=EM 501 Management of Organizations |publisher=Washington State University |date=2000 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209050420/http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/holt/em501/em501.htm |archivedate=February 9, 2010 |accessdate=October 17, 2015}}</ref> In the book, Adams writes that, in terms of effectiveness, use of the Dilbert principle is akin to a band of gorillas choosing an [[Alpha (ethology)|alpha]]-squirrel to manage them by an incredibly convoluted process. The book has sold more than a million copies and was on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for 43 weeks.
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